This week’s guest blogger is Kathy Harrison, a Christian counselor from Memphis, Tennessee. Professional counselors across the country are confirming what we, the post-abortive, have known all along … that abortions carry consequences, wreaking havoc on lives and relationships.
As a counselor in private practice, I often see women who are dealing with relational commitment issues or decisions to have a child post abortion. Very often there is fear of commitment and guilt about moving on with their life. Through 
additional counseling, I quite often learn there was a previous abortion, an extremely significant trauma, that has never been acknowledged with another person, much less emotionally processed. Emotions from any trauma that have not been processed, may still reside in the body down to the cellular level often lead to physical illness over time stemming from disenfranchised emotions. A traumatic event (and abortion ranks at the top in trauma), intense emotions are involved and prevents us from processing emotionally what is happening, thereby resulting in psychological trauma. Until the trauma is dealt with and processed, emotional pain (depression and anxiety) and physical health issues often follow.
For those women who are Christians with an abortion in their history, hiding from grief, guilt, and shame is all too common, particularly on Mother’s Day. More times than not these women were young, were taught morality under harsh measures, and, therefore, opted to terminate their pregnancy versus dealing with the potential of family shame. But God’s Truth and Grace sets them free. That’s why processing repressed emotions and properly grieving and achieving closure through post-abortion counseling is so vital to the health of these women.
Kathy Harrison, LPC, MHSP, is a Christian counselor in private practice in Memphis, Tennessee. She is a dynamic speaker and regularly holds retreats entitled “Restoring Dignity” designed to help people process past trauma.
Tagged: abortion recovery, grief and loss, mental health, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, pro-life
