Beyond Abuse
Committed to Freedom’s Beyond Abuse Retreat for men and women took place at the beginning of May in Staten Island. A very diverse group arrived with the deep wounds that result from abuse, exploitation, and sexual trauma. In just three short days, they discovered spiritual tools to help them find personal empowerment and strategic hope.
“Never in my entire life have I had anyone make the love of God so clear to me,” wrote one participant. Another wrote, “I was deeply moved and given a glimpse [of] the light I knew was always there, just couldn’t reach the window or open the right one, not sure what metaphor works here...the generic off-the-shelf therapy I was getting was not helping. You’re on the right side of the wave.”
Like the Beyond Abuse Seminar offered annually by Redeemer’s Diaconate and Counseling Center, the retreat provides proven abuse recovery resources, but does so in a more extended and experiential way that gives survivors an opportunity to integrate them into their personal journeys.
Does the retreat really make a long-term difference? Absolutely. “It’s been ten years since I attended the Beyond Abuse Retreat and it changed my life. The tools I learned continue to keep me healthy,” a retreat alumnus recently wrote.
Committed to Freedom will return to Redeemer next year for another Beyond Abuse Seminar. Further abuse recovery resources can be found at www.committedtofreedom.org.
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