Through Dangerous Terrain: A Guide for Trauma-Sensitive Pastoral Leadership in Times of Threat

When times of threat and uncertainty come, it can be challenging to know what to do or how to help. Through Dangerous Terrain provides a guide and map for how to understand the human threat-response system, how we connect in times of safety, and how to provide wise and informed leadership during and after threat or trauma events. Though it is written in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and offers some reflections particular to the viral pandemic, it can be applied to any experience of personal or societal threat. When we can more fully understand how human physiology detects threats and seeks safety, we can mobilize the gifts of our religious and spiritual traditions and communities to offer the community care that is essential for health and outside the purview of traditional therapeutic contexts. This book offers key insights from leading trauma care models (Internal Family Systems, Somatic Experiencing, and Polyvagal Theory), neuroscience, and pastoral care to help religious and spiritual community leaders offer informed care, hope, and support in the face of threat and trauma.