Early Life Abuse

(Part 1 Therapy for the soul)

Most of the saints had very Godly mothers so this doesn’t apply as much to them as it does to us regular folks..

Orthodox Christian “therapy for the soul” (as described in the Patristic tradition and especially in Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos’s Orthodox Psychotherapy) does involve dealing with the deep wounds, including those from early life abuse, trauma, or other formative childhood experiences — though it approaches them primarily from a spiritual-noetic perspective rather than a purely psychological one.

The core idea is that the human person is wounded in the nous (the spiritual intellect/eye of the heart) and enslaved to passions (pathological spiritual states like anger, fear, lust, pride, despair, etc.) as a result of the Fall, personal sin, and environmental influences — including harmful experiences in childhood. These early wounds often become the root or amplifying factors for many passions that persist into adulthood.

How Early Life Abuse/Trauma Fits In

Orthodox teaching recognizes that:

• Passions and spiritual illnesses can be shaped or intensified by childhood environments, family dynamics, neglect, abuse (emotional, physical, sexual), or betrayal of trust.
• Such experiences frequently leave the soul with deep wounds (e.g., fear of intimacy, self-hatred, chronic anger, distrust of authority figures including God as Father, compulsive behaviors as coping mechanisms).
• These wounds manifest as logismoi (intrusive thoughts) that feed the passions and scatter the nous away from God.

Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos emphasizes healing the soul’s wounds and curing the passions through the Church’s therapeutic method. While he doesn’t focus extensively on modern trauma categories like PTSD or childhood sexual abuse in his main works (his emphasis is on universal Patristic diagnosis), he speaks of the soul’s “inner wounds” and the need to heal them through purification, so that the nous can return to the heart and experience God’s grace.

Contemporary Orthodox writers, spiritual fathers, and clinicians (e.g., Fr. George Morelli, an Orthodox psychologist) explicitly connect this to early trauma:

• Childhood abuse can create spiritual/psychological cancers like unforgiveness, self-blame, anger, and despair.
• Healing requires addressing these at their root, often involving forgiveness (not as denying harm, but releasing the poison of resentment — “Father, forgive them…”) — which is extremely difficult and usually gradual.
• The process includes mourning over one’s brokenness (one of the Beatitudes), bringing hidden wounds into the light through confession, and allowing Christ’s grace to transform them.

Practical Elements in Orthodox Healing for Such Wounds

Orthodox soul-therapy addresses early abuse/trauma through these means (often in combination with professional help when needed):

• Regular, honest Confession — to a discerning spiritual father who can help name and uproot the deeper patterns and logismoi stemming from early wounds.
• The Jesus Prayer & watchfulness — to observe how past trauma fuels current thoughts/feelings, then cut them off and redirect the heart to Christ.
• Sacraments — especially Holy Communion as true medicine, and Holy Unction for healing of soul and body.
• Fasting, vigil, and ascetic struggle — to weaken the power of passions rooted in old pain.
• Forgiveness as a long process — not a one-time event, but a healing journey that frees the soul from bondage to the abuser.
• Community & spiritual guidance — A loving spiritual father/mother or elder can provide the safe “re-parenting” presence that was missing, helping rebuild trust in God as loving Father.

Many Orthodox sources stress that severe trauma (especially sexual abuse or deep betrayal in childhood) often requires cooperation between spiritual guidance and professional trauma-informed therapy (preferably by Orthodox or Orthodox-friendly clinicians). The Church heals the spiritual dimension of the wound, but doesn’t replace necessary psychological care for things like dissociation, flashbacks, or complex PTSD.

In essence: Yes — early life abuse is very much part of what Orthodox therapy for the soul seeks to heal. The tradition views these as profound wounds to the image of God in us, but it offers real hope: through Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection, even the deepest childhood scars can be transformed into pathways toward theosis (union with God), turning victims into healed witnesses of divine mercy. As one Orthodox writer put it: the goal is not just emotional balance, but re-establishing relationship with God and others, wounded though we may be.