Restoring the Heart: Were Faith Meets Trauma-Informed Healing

Bertha’s Place and Hill City Ministries Partner to Empower Christian Women Through Psycho-Education

By Nyasha B. Dube

October 25th 2025 marked a powerful and transformative moment for women of faith in Zimbabwe. Bertha’s Place, in partnership with Hill City Ministries, hosted its first-ever psycho-education session following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two institutions. The partnership aims to educate and empower Christian women with knowledge on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), mental health, trauma and strategies for coping and healing.

This collaborative initiative is groundbreaking, not only because it bridges the gap between faith and psychology but because it challenges long-held cultural and religious norms that have historically silenced women’s pain.

Reclaiming Faith as a Space for Healing

In Zimbabwe, faith and church life are central pillars of community identity and moral guidance. For generations, women have drawn strength, purpose and belonging from the church. Yet, in many instances, religion has also been used, knowingly or unknowingly, to suppress women’s rights, justify harmful practices and encourage silence in the face of abuse.

The new partnership between Bertha’s Place and Hill City Ministries acknowledges this reality and seeks to redefine what it means to be a faith-driven woman, one who embodies biblical wisdom, resilience and emotional wellness.

During the Hill City Women’s Conference, themed around Proverbs 31, Bertha’s Place facilitated the first session under the MOU, an engaging and deeply reflective discussion on GBV, trauma awareness and mental health. The theme of the wholesome hardworking, wise and compassionate woman was linked to the importance of mental wellness. As the facilitators highlighted, “To be wise, strong and enduring, a woman must first be of sound mind.”

Women learned to identify different forms of GBV, from visible physical violence to the hidden emotional and financial abuse that often goes unnoticed. The session also delved into trauma responses: fight, flight, freeze and fawn. Participants discussed how unhealed trauma can affect daily life, relationships and even spiritual wellbeing, emphasizing that true healing requires both faith and self-awareness.

“Now We Know What Abuse Looks Like”

For many attendees, the session was eye-opening. Several women shared testimonies of realization, that what they once accepted as “normal” in marriage or home life was, in fact, abuse.

One participant said, “We were made to believe endurance was faithfulness. But now I see that wisdom also means knowing when something is wrong.”

This acknowledgment, that spiritual devotion should never mean suffering in silence, marked a profound moment in the journey toward healing for church women.

The session used trauma-informed teaching techniques, introducing women to grounding exercises and self-compassion journaling practices, proven tools that help survivors manage stress, anxiety, and emotional overwhelm.

Women were encouraged to take small, practical steps toward healing, such as seeking counsel and support within trusted church and community spaces, practicing self-care without guilt and recognizing their right to safety, peace and dignity.

The Church as a Catalyst for Change

The impact of this partnership extends beyond individual empowerment. The church, as a central institution in Zimbabwean society, holds the power to influence attitudes and cultivate empathy.

Through integrating psycho-education into faith spaces, Bertha’s Place and Hill City Ministries are turning the church into a place of restoration rather than repression, a place where conversations about trauma, mental health and GBV are not taboo, but necessary acts of faith and love.

This is not a departure from religion, it is a return to its core values of compassion, dignity and care for the broken-hearted.

Way Forward

This first session is just the beginning of a continuing partnership that aims to reach many more women of faith across Zimbabwe. The two organizations envision:

• Regular psycho-education workshops in church conferences and women’s groups.

• Counselling and mentorship programs combining biblical principles with trauma-informed therapy.

• Training for church leaders to identify signs of GBV and mental distress in congregants.

• Faith and wellness materials that guide ongoing personal reflection.

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Their shared belief is simple yet radical in its potential. A healthy, empowered woman of faith leads to a healthy, empowered community.

This partnership between Bertha’s Place and Hill City Ministries is a reminder that healing after trauma isn’t just about ending violence, it’s about helping women rebuild their lives on their own terms, without fear or shame.