With a woman's decision to have an abortion come frightening and painful emotions that get buried over the years. But working through these emotions is essential for healing, according to the author of a new book on the topic.

“If you have been traumatized, you have to work that through and integrate what happened,” said Dr. Theresa Burke, author of Forbidden Grief: The Unspoken Pain of Abortion (Elliot Institute, 2002).

Burke, 42, who developed the Rachel's Vineyard support group models and weekend retreats for any man or woman who has struggled with the emotional and spiritual pain of abortion, said her healing method is to take participants on an “intensive but ultimately liberating journey” into their own grief. It's a journey modeled after the paschal mystery, united with Christ's own suffering, death and resurrection.

The key to recovery is to disable a person's tendency toward trauma reenactment following an abortion. This is accomplished through Rachel's Vineyard's “living Scripture” exercises—meditations designed to help connect memories and feelings—therapeutic role-playing and a memorial service and Mass of Resurrection, all part of the retreat process designed to release repressed grief, guilt and shame.

Some of the symptoms of postabortion trauma include bouts of crying, depression, guilt, sadness, anger, emotional numbness, sexual problems or promiscuity, eating disorders, lowered self-esteem, drug and alcohol abuse, nightmares and sleep disturbances, suicidal urges, difficulties with relationships, anxiety and panic attacks and flashbacks.

But by purging “toxic feelings and buried grief” through a supportive and structured process, she added, a person's heart and soul can “truly embrace the mercy and compassion of Christ to forgive oneself.”

The retreats, held throughout the year around the country and abroad, are usually promoted through word-of-mouth and the Rachel's Vineyard Web site. Recently, they've also found one national vehicle to promote them: the Register's monthly “New Evangelization Events” insert.

For more information about Rachael's Vineyard see www.rach elsvineyard.org.

—Tom Tracy