Belief in a higher power can help many people recover from trauma by providing meaning, emotional support, structured coping practices, and social resources, though it is not universally protective and can sometimes worsen outcomes when beliefs are experienced as punitive or when religion itself is a source of harm.[1][2]
Why belief can improve resilience
– Meaning and narrative. Interpreting traumatic events within a framework that includes a higher power helps some survivors reframe suffering, find purpose, and integrate the event into their life story, which aids recovery.[5][1]
– Emotional regulation and comfort. Practices tied to belief such as prayer, recitation, or contemplative rituals reduce distress and support positive reappraisal, lowering perceived threat and helping people manage intense emotions after trauma.[1][2]
– Perceived divine support. Viewing a higher power as caring and present (positive religious coping) is linked to better psychological outcomes, whereas feeling abandoned or punished by the divine predicts worse outcomes.[1]
– Social support and communal resources. Faith communities often provide practical help, safe spaces to share experiences, and sustained relational support that buffer against isolation after traumatic events.[2][5]
– Ritual, routine, and embodied practices. Regular rituals and faith-based routines restore rhythm and predictability, which can rebuild a sense of safety and control disrupted by trauma.[5][1]
Mechanisms identified in research
– Cognitive restructuring: Religious beliefs can enable meaning-making and positive reappraisal that reduce the emotional burden of trauma.[1][2]
– Coping practices: Prayer, meditation, and religiously framed mindfulness improve distress tolerance and emotional regulation.[1][6]
– Self-efficacy and recovery engagement: Integrating spirituality into therapy or recovery work can increase confidence to engage in trauma treatments and self-care behaviors.[6]
– Community mobilization: Religious groups can organize practical relief and collective action that support material and psychological recovery in large-scale crises.[5]
When belief may not help
– Religious or spiritual trauma. If the traumatic experience is linked to religious abuse, coercion, or doctrines that induce shame and fear, belief can compound harm and impede healing; specialized trauma-informed care is often needed in these cases.[3][4]
– Negative divine appraisals. People who interpret trauma as punishment or abandonment by a higher power commonly report worse mental-health outcomes than those who feel divine closeness.[1]
– Overreliance without clinical care. Relying solely on spiritual practices while avoiding evidence-based treatments for severe trauma or PTSD can delay recovery for some individuals.[2][6]
Clinical and programmatic implications
– Assess spiritual resources and struggles. Clinicians should evaluate both positive and negative religious coping and tailor support accordingly.[1][3]
– Integrate faith-sensitive interventions. When appropriate, incorporating clients’ spiritual practices into trauma-focused therapies (for example, combining EMDR with spiritually congruent coping strategies) can strengthen outcomes and engagement.[6][3]
– Distinguish spiritual from religious harm. Recovery from spiritual or religious trauma often requires rebuilding trust, reclaiming personal authority, and separating harmful doctrines from helpful spiritual meaning.[4]
– Community-informed humanitarian programming. In displacement and large-scale crises, faith-sensitive psychosocial support that respects cultural practices (prayer, ritual, recitation) can improve uptake and effectiveness.[1][5]
Practical takeaways for survivors and supporters
– If your faith brings comfort, use rituals and community connections as part of a broader recovery plan that can include professional therapy.
– If your faith feels punishing or tied to the trauma, seek trauma-informed mental-health care that understands spiritual harm and can help rebuild safe meaning.[3][4]
– Encourage balanced approaches: combine spiritual resources with evidence-based interventions when needed, rather than treating belief as a substitute for clinical care.[6]
Sources
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12702872/
https://www.ourmental.health/resilience/how-spirituality-and-faith-boost-resilience-unlocking-inner-strength
https://tobybarrontherapy.com/blog/religious-trauma-syndrome/
https://cptsdfoundation.org/2025/12/22/987502421/
https://www.sourcesjournal.org/articles/what-holds-israeli-society-togetherand-what-holds-it-back
https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/jemdr.0016
