The post-covid landscape has unearthed a mental health epidemic in the United States that suggests many people are struggling with anxiety, depression, addiction, trauma, grief, and fear. Perhaps now more than ever, wise, compassionate, grounded clinicians are needed to accompany children, adolescents, adults, groups, couples, and families through challenging life experiences. However, with the increase in care needed, mental health clinicians are at increased risk of experiencing compassi...

"From the inspiring chapter quotes, to relevant historical and current research, to practical clinical directions, Primer on Posttraumatic Growth takes a giant step toward both grounding us and moving us ahead with strong hope for adjustment and growth in the post-trauma/loss world. This is a comprehensive, practical, and readable work that should be at hand for any mental health clinician, pastoral care professional, or student preparing for these professions."—J. Shep Jeffreys, Ed...

"Life is filled with entryways to the sacred: a conversation with a child, recovery from illness, and the gentle embrace of a close friend," Mary Beth Werdel wisely suggests in her book As Faith Matures: Beyond the Sunday God. She asserts that our deepest experiences can be simple or even life-altering. These moments are often doorways or an invitation into a more adult relationship with the God we encountered in our childhood or continue to encounter on Sundays.

The Paradox of Trauma and Growth in Pastoral and Spiritual Care: Night Blooming introduces and bridges the gap between the psychological and spiritual perspectives and responses in trauma work, illuminating the complexity of the human phenomenon of growth though suffering that is too easily misunderstood in the context of pastoral and spiritual care. Through the hopeful metaphor of night bloomers, rare plants that grow because of light, but bloom in the darkness, it is suggested that while...