This project intends to provide a womanist perspective of spiritual direction for "soul-thirsty" African American Christians with Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome (PTCS) resulting from "church-hurt." For the purpose of this study, "soul-thirst" describes the yearning or longing for connection with the Divine that many African Americans with PTCS experience following separation from their local church. "Church-hurt" will be defined as institutional abuses of power by church leaders and other professing Christians within local church congregations (i.e., spiritual abuse & misuse of the Bible; psychological manipulation; sexual assault, and sexual harassment). A narrative approach will be employed to examine the spiritual issues that bring African Americans with PTCS to spiritual direction. Further, this study will aim at determining an effective approach for spiritual direction with African Americans that is inclusive of traditional Christian spiritual practices and African spirituality.

In order to effectively address the issues impacting the spiritual health of African Americans with PTCS, a theoretical framework of Womanist theology, African-centered psychology, and African Spirituality will be used to construct a spiritual direction framework that fosters spiritual growth and considers the cultural context of African Americans as integral to their spiritual health. Two metaphors will be employed: 1) "Midwife" to describe the role of the spiritual director as an active prophetic spiritual guide who journeys with and “wom[b]entors” her directee through the transitional processes of transformation; and 2) "Water" using the acronym H.Y.D.R.A.T.E. [H=heal; Y=Yield (to grow or bring forth); D=Discover; R=Recover; A=Accept; T=Transform; E=Empower] to illustrate the expected outcomes of this study as a transformative approach based on a vision of the reigndom of God that provides soulful connections that African Americans with PTCS desire; yet find difficult to attain.