Torn R. Hawkins. Ph.D.

Restoration in Christ Ministries

P0 Box 479
(Grottos. VA 24441-0479
540-249-9119
rcm@rcm-usa.org
www.rcm-usa.org
2002-2003

Overview of Healing Journey

September 2003

Please note that the following is a generalization and neither the order
nor the specific steps will be the same for all survivors.
(This material is new, tentative and not in final form.)

I. Identify diagnostic indicators of dissociation.

Note: Not all dissociation is DID and sometimes it is unwise to use this label. Further, in most states
only a licensed professional can make a diagnosis. It has been my observation that people come into
treatment because of some kind of overwhelming pain, dysfunction, misery and/or torment. Sometimes it is
physical with no obvious medical reason, but most often it is spiritual or psychological torment that is an
unspoken cry for help. When a person comes for help with obvious symptoms or even unspecified
dynamics that fail to meet the common criteria necessary for a clear diagnosis, then consider the possibiliiy
of dissociation. Some of the younger people do not have clearly defined alter systems and are much
harder to get a clear diagnosis. I have observed 3 ways into a system when they first present:
A. The system has become dysfunctional/fallen apart with obvious switching so that the system basically
reveals itself.
B. The gift of discernment allows the spiritual cover to be removed
In this case one must be very careful to not remove the cap on the system prematurely or all hell
will break loose. Just because the cap becomes obvious doesnt mean it is time to take it off. It might
be better to begin with step C.
C. Synchronize in a gentle, supportive manner with the presenting symptoms while remaining alert to
hidden issues as they begin to surface
It is sometimes possible to talk through to more hidden parts without blowing the system open by
puffing too much pressure on the denial system represented most clearly by the Denial Primary
Identity. In any case, as you synchronize with whoever is presenting, look for evidence of differences
of viewpoint. Allow God to lead you in removing the spiritual hindrances to healing, with the goal of
building relationship and moving toward the Original Self as quickly as possible. I have observed that
relationship is stronger than programming.

II. Begin spiritual warfare as soon as needed.

If dissociation is present and there is any indication of demonic interference, it is especially important to
begin praying at the beginning of each session, and as needed during the session, something like the
following:
 True, Holy Creator God, in the name of/he True Lord Jesus Ghrist, in accordance ~4ith .Jtide 8
10 (NIV), I ask you o move back all evil celestial beings and fbrbid them to harass, intimidate or
retaliate against (~survivor .s~ name,) or any part of him/he,; whether in the body or outside the
______

body. I petition you to prevent these beings, of whatever rank, ~from sending any level of spiritual
evil as retaliation against anyone present or our families, ministries or possessions. We are trusting
you, our Sovereign God, to make it safe to work here today, in the name of the True Lord Jesus
Christ, our Savior.
In addition, I exercise delegated authority from the Risen Lord Jesus Christ over all the lower levels
of evil spirits and demons who have been assigned to ________(survivor ~ name,) by any of the
higher levels or any human agency. All such demonic beings are 110/ allowed to divide and are to be
separated from every human part of/he person, whether any part is perceived to be in the body or
trapped out of the body. Nothing from the evil spiritual realm is to transfer power to any other
spirits or call for reinforcements, and are to remain bound until dismissed.

Better yet, teach the client to pray the prayer for themselves. Sometimes, however, the human prisoner of
these spiritual powers is too paralyzed to pray for themselves. Remember also, that any human part who so
chooses (either freely or because of an internal double bind) can invite the spirits back at any time, so the
prayer may need to be repeated during the session. It is essential to develop trust with every human part of
the person and secure permission for any warfare prayers to avoid intensifying their internal conflict. Since
every part of the person will have the Original Self s (formerly called CORE) protection as their primary
reason for existence, it is helpful to discern the true heart of every part (including those who object) in
regards to such prayer. Resolving internal conflict over any issue, especially that of the above prayer, will
reap positive benefits in terms of eventual healing.
It is also recommended that the therapist/prayer minister/ministry team do a spiritual cleansing of
themselves and the ministry room after each session. It is easy to forget this, but it is the best way to avoid
spiritual barnacles or baggage that tends to come from such ministry.

When roadblocks are encountered, validate and synchronize with the survivor so that together you can
determine the cause:

A. If internal conflict, find a resolution

B. If so called human spirits, then remove them

C. If a celestial being, apply Jude 8-10 and Eph 3:10 and ask God to remove them

D. If demonic, break the grounds and remove them

E. Sometimes it is helpful to use the appropriate renunciation.

F. At the appropriate time plan to bring the situation to the Heavenly Court.

III. Assemble a ministry team.

I believe that good ministry will involve a dependence upon the Holy Spirit, and where possible, a team
effort that takes advantage of persons with the following gifts and skills:

A. Therapist/prayer minister with a good clinical understanding of dissociation and the

 psychological/spiritual dynamics of DID and RA (Ritual Abuse). In some cases it may work for a
clinician to team up with a person with adequate spiritual training;

B. Psychiatrist or medical doctor (at least to consult with) to manage medication needs around issues
such as anxiety, sleep, impulse control, etc. (when necessary), and/or a psychologist trained to address
character pathology, borderline behaviors or severe developmental needs;

C. Prayer intercessors and/or support people, at least some of whom have the gift of discerning of spirits
and can be present in the therapy/ministry sessions. It is best to pass notes to the person in charge of
the session or talk afterwards to avoid confusion for the survivor about who is in charge of the
session;

D. Survivors pastor and spiritual community of believers.

The physical presence of such persons should be considered only with survivors permission and
information shared should never violate confidentiality. Some therapists choose to call in pastors for
deliverance on an as needed basis. Such participation obviously depends on a pastors knowledge,
gifting, experience and time availability. Regarding other believers, it is rare for a church body to be
able to handle DID dynamics publicly (and even less so for RA dynamics) and thus most survivors
have found it better to share only necessary information with specific individuals as situations arise.
For more information on the vital issue of community see Living from the Heart Jesus Gave You by
Dr. Jim Wilder.
As therapy/ministry proceeds, deal with spiritual dynamics as needed in as low key a manner as
possible. Do use spiritual gifting within the above team but in a clinically/ethically sound manner that
is not suggestive, intrusive, or overwhelming.
Such dynamics as generational inheritances, inner vows, bitter root judgments, connections to the
spiritual internet, unnatural and ungodly soul ties with any other person or group (such as
Freemasonry, etc.) should all be dealt with as the need becomes evident. Interference coming from
these kinds of dynamics should be considered when there is demonic interference arising during the
session or when programmed behaviors such as self harm and suicidality are being triggered.
Those with spiritual gifting may also discern them. How these kinds of issues are to
be addressed and by which member of the team should be determined ahead of time
depending upon experience and qualifications.

IV. Build a therapeutic alliance with the survivor.

A. Discover and validate the presenter system.

B. Assess functionalitywork so as to maintain as much function as possible.

C. Establish a plan for handing crises such as self harm, suicidality, cult access, or programming.
(See Multiple Identities: Understanding and Supporting the Severely Abused by Diane Hawkins.)
Sometimes it helps to establish contracts with a specific part (committed to self harm) that include
specific external people to call in the event of crises, with several backup persons so it doesnt all rest
on one individual. Such contracts need to be made with parts that carry some level of authority
and/or can speak for a major Primary Part since it is possible otherwise for alter personalities to make
such agreements without them being binding. Include hospital or mental health phone numbers as
 well and provide definite guidelines for when they should be called. Not all therapists handle such
emergency after hours calls. Provide clear and specific guidelines to avoid any confusion for the
survivor. (Both the JSSD (www.issd.org) and CSHDD (www.cshdd.org) have statements of ethical
guidelines that might help.)

D. Synchronize with both the pain and denial in the survivor.

Some who use a truth ministry (TheoPhostic) approach have caused intense anger and even
destabilization by failure to adequately listen with empathic understanding and thus earn the right to
seek God for the truth of the beliefs. Many emotional and spiritual blocks to hearing God are often
present and any attempt to find a short cut rather than taking the time to build a healthy relationship
with the different parts will be perceived as rejection by many survivors. It is important to remember
that healing comes out of relationship. Survivors of severe trauma often have inadequate foundational
understanding of themselves, God and life and this hinders their ability to instantly go to God for
resolution. These weaknesses must be strengthened and carefully built over time. Recognizing a
survivor~ s limitations will help build trust whereas blaming the client will more likely increase their
frustration or sense of hopelessness.
It is also vital for the therapist to understand that the pain side of the system will initially present from
the perspective of victim. Only later, when they have sufficient capacity, will they be able to face the
nearly universal dynamic of perpetrator guilt.
We must also remember that denial is the glue that holds dissociation in place as my wife Diane said
several years ago. When the need for denial is gone so also will be the dissociation. This must be
balanced by the recognition that survivors wont let go of their denial until it is safe to do so, and they
have the capacity to handle the issues that they couldnt handle in the past.

E. Make it safe for alters to come forward and/or identify themselves.

Your tone of voice, manner of treating alters, gentle dependence upon the Holy Spirit, and spiritual
authority all make a difference and help to win trust. Always keep your word and never promise what
you cant deliver.
F. Work with whatever alter dynamics are presenting but as quickly as possible try to identify
and begin working primarily with the Primary Parts.
Alters will continue to participate in therapy as needed even with the Primary level work, but they will do
so with much more stability and less loss of function than when working only with alters systems.

G. Assess capacity for joy (and finding rest or peace) and ability to synchronize with God, the
therapist and others.
This step is essential as a means of determining how quickly and how much trauma work can be resolved
without causing destabilization. Because of this issue, it has been my experience that initial conflict
resolution should be done with as liftle focus on overwhelming trauma memories as possible. I believe it
is a mistake to focus on resolving trauma memories alone or any other approach that hinders adequate
validation and understanding. Premature focus on trauma can cause de-compensation and destabilization.

H. Look for indicators of complexity and adjust the pace of therapy as needed
The goal is to avoid overwhelming the survivor (keep your own private checklistdont overwhelm
client with information they are not ready to hear). One indication of internal destabilization is when child
alters are trying to live life in an adult survivor.
 I. Encourage the growth of capacity (ego strength) through community and support persons.

J. Encourage survivors to be involved in a ministry that uses their spiritual gifts

Ministry involvement is good as long as it can be done in a way that is safe for others. This is especially
important if their ministry involves children in the church. If the survivor has an RA background, in most
cases it is recommended that a team be formed so the survivor is not alone with children. This is not only
reasonable but a recommended church policy for anyone working with children (at least two people
present for all ministry to children). This approach can prevent the church from
potential lawsuits. Based on personal experience, I highly recommend that survivors
who show possible evidence of involvement with higher level spiritual beings (such as
Jezebelwho seeks control to covertly bring about spiritual havoc within a faith
community or ministry) not minister in any position of authority until they are free from
such evil Celestial control.

V. Discover and address resolution of conflicts around both the Primary Parts and
the Original Self.
It is critical to understand that in complex systems there is likely to be a number of shields who will appear
claiming to be Primary Identities. They may genuinely believe that they need to fill that expected role as a
protection for the Primary Identity whom they are shielding.

A. Reassess system dynamics once the Primary Identities are identified

Depending upon how much therapy/ministry a person has had and the nature of their alter systems, some
of the previous evaluations may need re-examination. Some survivors who have understood Primary
dynamics at the beginning of their healing journey may not need to work as much with the alter systems;
nevertheless, some work with the alters will likely still be required to bring about complete resolution. It
is important to mention, however, that the true nature of the conflicts will most likely be difficult for
alters to understand due to the alter systems narrow focus. The therapist/prayer minister needs to
continually keep the big picture in mind (and not getting lost in the experience of the moment) so the
Primary Identities are not overwhelmed and destabilized by previously hidden dynamics.

B. Educate the system about the goal of therapy and potential Primary structure.
(Graphic)

* Original Christian Heart & Identity (Doug Riggs) 2002 Reslora~io, j, CI,~s ~ T~R Hawkins,Ph.D.)

Obviously, the above is not an absolute blue print but simply a generalization. While
not everybody fits this pattern it is nearly universal to find the following though they
might be diagramed differently:
1. One or more (usually several) aspects of the person who are afraid to know (often
called Denial);
2. An aspect of the self who perceives he/she has to be good, which in turn is
separated from another part who either believes he/she is bad or was forced to do
bad things to stay alive and/or protect the Original Self;
3. All of these dynamics (different aspects of self) reflect a disconnection from the
Original Self (O.S.formerly CORE) who is sometimes perceived to be dead.
 In some cases where this pattern doesnt seem to fit, however, it may be due to
alters and/or Primary Parts who are perceptually out of the body or in some kind
of dimensional captivity. These missing parts will often present through shields.

C. Evaluate Primary Identities presentation (Which Primary Identity is behind the

presenter system?), function and level of internal synchronization or lack thereof.
1. Invite Primary Parts to identify themselves.
When a shift between Primary Identities is suspected or recognized, call this to the survivors
attention, since initially they will probably not be aware of it themselves. Over time, the Primary
Identities will begin to respond readily if they know that the person working with them knows what
is going on, is safe and knows how to handle conflict at a Primary level. If a shield presents, you will
quickly discover that they dont know and cant resolve the normal issues that one would expect.
2. Work to resolve conflicts that keep the system from internal synchronization.
Issues that cant be resolved often require going deeper or closer to the Original Self (CORE),
wherever the conflict originated, if that doesnt resolve the issue, it might be necessary to look for and
retrieve the part from an out of the body or dimensional place (above the earth, in the earth, or
below the earth or in a void between the dimensions) who can resolve the issues. Be sure to resolve the
conflict which caused the part to want to escape the body or they are likely to leave again.

D. Build an alliance with the Denial Identity, after securing cooperation from the Pain
Identity.
Recent experience has convinced me that the goal of therapy must not be sidetracked by focusing only on
the three Primary Identities and their issues. As quickly as possible we need to move toward the Original
Self by addressing whatever issues cause him/her to be uninvolved with life. Most people look for help
because they are aware of issues around the pain dynamic. Using a truth ministry (called TheoPhostic
by Dr. Smith) type of approach is the best way to bring healing and encouragement to some aspect of
Pains issues. This establishes credibility with Pain enabling him/her to understand and accept something
like the Primary Identity model as a way to set him/her free. Priority can then more easily shift in the
ministry to the denial dynamics. This penhiission by the pain side will allow us to then work with the
Denial Identity (or whoever is present and is afraid to know) and resolve their fears about knowing
before focusing too much on the dynamics underlying the pain. Experience has taught me that resolving
beliefs coming out of trauma memories alone or even primarily is a mistake with dissociative clients.
Those beliefs need to be resolved, but only in the broader context of building relationship, determining
developmental capacity and adequately assessing synchronization so that memory work doesnt
overwhelm the person.
1. Identify the Primary Denial Identity or whatever part is filling the not knowing
role.
2. Synchronize with whatever Primary Identities are available but remember the goal
is to get to the Original Self as soon as it is safe.

E. Resolve Denials fears about knowing both their entire history and whos who
inside (What if_______ (a part) is serving Satan or Lucifer?).
Another major issue is around What if 1 did [this or that evil thing] or was involved in
_______? [a
_______?

particular group or kind of evil] kind of question. When these fears are adequately addressed, one will
often find either the good/bad split or Original Self (O.S.). One never knows in advance who will be
found next.
 F. Be prepared to find shields protecting the deeper parts of the self.
Without considerable experience with the particular survivor in front of you, spiritual discernment
and practice with these dynamics, it is veiy difficult to identity this protective part
initially. Skill in recogllizing shields is more often caught than taught.

G.As necessary, resolve the fears of the good side who has the heart for Jesus. Then
address the beliefs of the bad part of the good/bad split. It is important to emphasize
again that from a therapist/prayer ministers s viewpoint, no part should actually be viewed as
bad.
Often the good side will have a variation of denials fears about knowing they are bad or the bad
things they did. Once those fears are adequately addressed, it should be possible to get to the opposite or
bad side. Their issues will be slightly different in that they often feel they are too bad to be redeemed
and thus have little choice other than to continue doing evil. It is usually life-changing for them to finally
understand that they share the same heart are the Original Self and did what they did (in RA cases) to
protect the Original Self from death.

H. Find the Original Self (O.S.) and finish resolving his/her fears about knowing and owning
a complete personal history and strengthen him/her to take over living life (function
effectively).
1. Repeat or use any appropriate renunciations.
2. For Masonic renunciations see Shield of Faith website at www.shieldofaith.org
3. For more general renunciations see Breaking the Ghains of DID by this author
4. For current information check our website at www.rcrn-usa.onz
5. Sometimes, this may be a place to use the Heavenly Court type of intervention or continue one that
was begun earlier

VI. Encourage resolution of issues that remain.

A. Discover and resolve the root of conflicts and beliefs that hold any remaining dissociation,
pain or problematic behavior in place.

B. Expect integration of alters to occur rather spontaneously as their reason for being
separate no longer exists.

C. Help strengthen the Original Self (O.S.) to successfully handle the stresses and difficulties
that day-to-day life brings without dissociating, while remaining open to the potential for
additional dissociated parts to surface (or be created) and the need to resolve their issues.

D. Understand that after wholeness seems to have taken place it is not uncommon to find hidden,
unresolved issues that involve other parts that were not a part of what appeared to have been the
final integration. (Someone said years ago that the final integration usually isnt and this
seems to be true.)

E. Resolve character pathologies that remain.

 What does healing look like?
At the risk of being too simplistic, I would suggest that healing has occurred when a formerly dissociative person
is able to live from their Original Self (formerly, the CORE of their being), and function effectively without
needing to dissociate into parts of themselves (alter-identities) or even other Primary Parts. For a committed
Christian, being healed means living from the heart Jesus gave them (Dr. Jim Wilder), which is their true
identity, without significant connection to the evil spiritual realm. Healing implies that not only do they no longer
need or want to, but also they in fact no longer dissociate and/or leave the body when they encounter conflict or
other experiences that formerly made them do so. Healing implies that all of the reasons for the existence of alter-
identities and Primary Parts have been resolved and that the person is now a unified, integrated
whole who not only knows his/her history but owns it as a part of his/her own autobiography,
while remaining open to dealing with unresolved issues as they surface. Healing does not imply
complete sanctification but rather a steady progress on that journey without relying on former
dissociative skills.

Summary of the Healing Journey

I.Build a therapeutic alliance, beginning with presenters/alters.

II. Resolve Primary Conflicts, especially Denials fears.

III. Find the Original Self, address unresolved issues, and strengthen to live
life.

IV. Remove remaining dissociative barriers (integration of Alters & Primary

Parts into Original Self).

Reswration in Christ Ministries 195 Tom R. Hawkins, Ph.D.