Can SRA Be Healed Quickly?
Can satanic ritual abuse (SRA) be healed quickly? In order to answer this question we need to understand some basic elements comprising satanic ritual abuse. To begin with, the abuse usually starts in infancy or when the child is very young and vulnerable. Most often the perpetrators are persons who have easy and regular access to the child such as parents or other relatives, live-in partners, daycare providers, nursery school or kindergarten workers, etc. Therefore, episodes of abuse are seldom few in number. Most likely the abuse will happen several times a week over a period of years. It is easy for a counselor to deal with a few memories, see the person improving and come to the conclusion the person is totally healed. Some claim satanic ritual abuse can be healed in a few months or just a few hours. Those making these claims mean well and sincerely desire to help others, but they are deceived. These counselors may be bringing the presence of Jesus to abused persons and seeing definite victories, but they often mistakenly think that because Jesus has been present and dealt with some things the healing is complete. However, there are three reasons why this is impossible.
The first reason is that the abuse is usually far more extensive than we would surmise. It is true that a person doesn’t have to go through every single memory, but the fact is they have to experience a considerable number in order to be healed. This is because (reason #2) the emotional pain of their experience is still locked deep inside and needs to be released. The pain of satanic ritual abuse is horrendous. That pain needs to be released a little at a time, memory by memory, in order for the person to be thoroughly healed. Some memories are so very painful (such as the memory of giving birth to a baby that was sacrificed) that weeks of grieving must occur before the next memory is dealt with. People cannot be rushed through memories with this depth of pain. Neither can the unremembered incidents be considered healed just because a person prayed a certain prayer and experienced the Lord’s presence. When memories are not dealt with, a person feels some of the unpleasant emotions of their experience but doesn’t know why, and this causes depression and hopelessness.
I was never abused, but sometimes the Lord allows me to experience certain things to reinforce the validity of the concepts He is teaching me. I am basically a happy person, but one morning recently I felt tremendous joy as I was preparing for my day. I wondered why this deep effervescent joy was bubbling up so powerfully on that particular day. In answer to my question, the Lord brought to mind a dream I had experienced during the night. In my dream I was a small child holding onto a stuffed animal (one I remember well from childhood) and I was sobbing uncontrollably. Someone had hurt my feelings and the pain had remained locked inside all these years. Jesus released that pain and that is why I was so joyful that particular morning. Something that had diminished my joy had been removed as I experienced the healing of a childhood memory. If my joy could be diminished over such a small incident, think of the enormity of emotional neediness in the satanically ritually abused!
The third reason why those satanically ritually abused require a long time to heal involves the abuse identity. During the years of childhood abuse, the person is attempting to form an authentic identity but the identity formed is all based on lies. These lies need to be identified, renounced and replaced with truth. This is a long process because we have to slowly dismantle the false identity and build a true identity in Jesus Christ.
These three aspects of satanic ritual abuse—its extensiveness, the depth of pain, and the abuse identity—make it clear that the effects of satanic ritual abuse take a long time to heal completely. There is nothing wrong with taking time for something so important to be done thoroughly. There is grave danger for those who have had small victories to believe they are healed and then experience the darkness coming over them again in a few months or a year. This can bring a sense of hopelessness greater than before.
The need for lay-Christians to rise up into the satanic ritual abuse ministry seems obvious because most professional counselors don’t have enough time to devote to this depth of ministry. Also, abused persons often simply don’t have the funds to pay for such extensive counseling. Those who answer God’s call to help the satanically ritually abused will find tremendous blessing in serving God in this way.
