This book is about Black women's search for relationships and encounters that support healing from intimate and cultural violence. Narratives provide an ethnographic snapshot of this violence, while raising concerns over whether or not existing paradigms for pastoral care and counseling are congruent with how many Black women approach healing.

Stephanie M. Crumpton is Assistant Professor of Practial Theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary, USA. She is a member of the Society for Pastoral Theology and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ denomination.

Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. A Black Feminist/Womanist Sociohistoric Perspective 3. Self Psychology on Intimate and Cultural Violence 4. Womanist God Talk 5. The Road Ahead PART I: I CAN SPEAK FOR MYSELF 6. 'Rori' 7. 'Eliza' 8. 'Cirene' 9. 'Tamara' 10. 'Camille' 11. Reflecting on Experience PART II: NAVIGATING THE HOSTILE TERRAIN OF INTIMATE AND CULTURAL VIOLENCE 12. Developmental Implications of Intimate Violence 13. Othermothers 14. Sisterfriends 15. Cultural Craftswomen PART III: A GOD I RECOGNIZE 16. Interrogation 17. A Reconstructed Spirituality 18. Enfleshing Power 19. Dealing with Defilement PART IV: WOMANISTCARE: RESHAPING IMAGES AND PARADIGMS FOR CARE 20. A Working Image of WomanistCare 21. Healing Through Communal Ritual 22. Ritual, Power and Abuse PART V: WOMANIST PASTORAL COUNSELING: CLINICAL CONSIDERATIONS 23. Recognizing Traumatic Sequelae 24. Traumatic Transference 25. Shame 26. Empathic Work with Trauma and Shame 27. Spirituality as a Therapeutic Resource 28. Conclusion