Skills for Safeguarding: A Guide to Preventing Abuse and Fostering Healing in the Church

The Only Textbook on Safeguarding for Faith-Based Ministries and Seminaries

Christians are called to care for the vulnerable, but churches have not always led the way in becoming places safe from abuse. Increasingly, organizations and churches are recognizing the importance of the field of safeguarding: training and equipping people to prevent abuse, act when abuse happens, and promote healing for survivors.

Lisa Compton and Taylor Patterson have edited the first textbook on safeguarding designed specifically for faith-based ministries and seminaries. In Skills for Safeguarding, experts from universities around the world have contributed on topics in their areas of expertise. This book

• provides an understanding of trauma and abuse from a Christian integration perspective;
• gives insight into perpetrator dynamics and systems that enable abuse;
• teaches skills necessary to interact with victims and their families;
• includes questions for self-reflection and discussion; and more.

Safeguarders can be individuals hired by the church in a vocational role, but they can also be pastors and other church leaders, laypeople, mental health professionals, and anyone who desires to promote a safe environment. Ideally, every adult in the church should recognize their responsibility to safeguard and seek to grow in skills to better serve abuse survivors and cultivate a culture that protects the vulnerable. This book provides the essential starting place.

Lisa Compton is associate professor and assistant director of the doctoral program in counselor education and supervision at Regent University. She is a licensed social worker, certified trauma treatment specialist, and coauthor of the textbook Preparing for Trauma Work in Clinical Mental Health.

Taylor Patterson is a licensed professional counselor specializing in trauma, including survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. She has presented at local and national conferences and is published in peer-reviewed journals. She is currently a PhD candidate in Counselor Education and Supervision.