Part IV: Not talk therapy:
Many women (and men) who have suffered traumatic experiences have been in “talk therapy” for years, and while some may have benefited, a number of people have found that “talking it out” just doesn’t work for them.
Rachel’s Vineyard retreats for healing after abortion use an approach that is very different from traditional talk therapy. Our Christ-centered retreats could be called an “experience therapy” approach to healing. Do we talk about what has happened to us in our past? Yes, we do. But it is not the focus of our retreats. And there is a lot of time, and a lot of “grief work,” that takes place before we share our stories which gets us ready and helps us to better share how the decision to have (or be involved in) an abortion has affected us. We find that we are not alone anymore. There are other people who love us, who share our grief with us. A wise man once said that true love, true friendship “doubles the joy, and cuts the sorrows in half.” In a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat, we experience true, unselfish love. Some people might experience this kind of love for the first time in their lives. The retreat team is there to show the love, the acceptance, the Mercy of God to each of us who come burdened with the weight of our past sins and hurts. Through the Living Scriptures, we begin to experience Christ Jesus in a new and profound way. And when we are ready, Jesus (through his priest) is there to bring us home to His Body, the Church, through the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist.
If you have not yet made a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat for the healing of the wounds of abortion, please contact us through our website or by copying and pasting the email address at the bottom of this page, or you can call the national toll-free hotline at (877) HOPE 4 ME.