One of the most exciting things about the Immanuel approach is that several of the new components make it possible to design group Immanuel exercises that are both safe and effective. I have worked closely with our colleague, Dr. E. James Wilder, in developing Immanuel approach group exercises; and we have seen dramatically positive results, even when using the Immanuel approach in group settings. For example, during the winter of 2010 Dr. Wilder visited a country in Asia that is recovering from many years of civil war and from massive trauma associated with a recent natural disaster. Charlotte and I had the privilege of spending an evening with him less than a month after he returned from this trip, and his report was very encouraging. Dr. Wilder spent a week with a team of 45 ministers, mental health professionals, and lay people, training them in the use of the Immanuel approach, and especially focusing on the Immanuel approach tools that can be used in group settings. The core of his teaching program was to repeatedly take the trainees through the group exercises themselves. From the very first day the participants began receiving healing in their own lives as they “practiced.” By the middle of the week every single person was connecting with Jesus and receiving healing each time the group went through the exercises. And by the end of the week every participant had received healing for a number of different traumatic memories.

Here are a few examples:

• There was a group of participants from the war zone who had trouble trusting the rest of the trainees. At the beginning of the week they tried to avoid anybody from the larger group and they would not participate in activities with the larger group. However, after receiving healing these people were able to participate joyfully with the rest of the group.

• One of the pastors attending the training had been “executed,” along with a number of other believers who had been rounded up by anti-Christian militants. After spraying the group of Christians with bullets, the militants thought they were all dead and buried the bodies in a shallow mass grave. Amazingly, this pastor revived from the initial shock of being shot, dug himself out of the shallow grave, made it back to his home, and eventually recovered from the physical injuries; but, not surprisingly, he had also been psychologically traumatized and he displayed dysfunctional reactions to reminders of the trauma. By the end of the week these traumatic memories had been healed, and he appeared to be free of the PTSD symptoms associated with these events.

• Another pastor attending the training reported that he had been anxious for as long as he could remember, but that after the healing exercises he was feeling peace for the first time in his life.

Furthermore, by the end of Dr. Wilder’s visit the participants were confident that they would be able to take the Immanuel approach home with them – they were planning to go home and start using the Immanuel approach with their spouses, children, extended families, friends, neighbors, colleagues, parishioners, and clients. Follow-up: As of January 2011, almost a year later, the leader of the group Dr. Wilder worked with reports that they are still using the Immanuel approach, that it continues to be very effective, and that it has been especially helpful and effective in working with traumatized children.

Outsmarting Yourself, pages 75 & 76.