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Please note, we are experiencing high volume submissions; you will receive confirmations of submissions in due course. Data upload (DOI): https://researchdata.up.ac.za/ UPSpace: https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/51914
Sexual abuse : a practical theological study, with an emphasis on learning from transdisciplinary research
This article illustrates the practical usefulness of transdisciplinary work for practical theology
by showing how input from an occupational therapist informed my understanding and
interpretation of the story of Hannetjie, who had been sexually abused as a child. This
forms part of a narrative practical theological research project into the spirituality of female
adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Transdisciplinary work is useful to practical
theologians, as it opens possibilities for learning about matters pastors have to face, but
may not have knowledge about. A short retelling of Hannetjie’s story is given to provide
information about the context of the research. Next, the transdisciplinary process that was
followed is mentioned, and the questions that the transdisciplinary team had to respond to are
discussed. Following that, I focus more specifically on the occupational therapist’s answers,
and the knowledge gained from her contribution, as an example of how a co-researcher from
a divergent discipline can inform a theological study. In this case, knowledge was shared
about sensory integration and how the brain processes traumatic stimuli, such as sexual
abuse. Lastly, the interrelationship between Hannetjie’s body stories, mind stories and spirit
stories is discussed to show how the learning received from occupational therapy affected my
thinking about Hannetjie’s stories and the relationships between them. Thus, it is concluded
that transdisciplinary work has great value for practical theology, especially in the pastor’s
daily work with people who are struggling with difficult stories, because we cannot listen to
people’s spirit stories in isolation. They are inextricably intertwined with all our stories about
ourselves.
Description:
This article is a reworked
version of a section of the
author’s PhD dissertation,
'A narrative practical
theological perspective on
the spirituality of female
adult survivors of childhood
sexual abuse', with Prof Dr
Julian Müller as supervisor. (http://hdl.handle.net/2263/50624)