The process of recovery and rebuilding among abused women in the conservative evangelical subculture

This study utilized a naturalistic methodology to develop a "grounded theory '' of the process of recovery and rebuilding among abused women situated in the conservative evangelical subculture. Among all the women, spirituality and church participation were an integral part of their identity and generated culture-specific issues that needed to be addressed in therapy. The women's faith functioned as a meaning-making framework that could either engender shame and guilt or inspire hope and empower transformative change. The church functioned as an extended family system that could minimize, deny, and enable abuse or provide much-needed social support, spiritual encouragement, and practical assistance The recovery process required that these women rebuild their personal and spiritual identity, redefine their relationship with the religious community, and find ways of expressing their new identify within the religious subculture.