The Role of Story in Healing
Kerygma Summit 2025
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1h 2m
Featuring: Dr. Eva Bleeker
In this deeply moving and academically rich breakout session, chaplain and narrative theory scholar Dr. Eva Bleeker teaches how storytelling—especially when received with compassion—becomes a sacred, healing act. Building on her ongoing work in narrative identity theory, Eva leads attendees through the science and soul of storytelling: how the way we tell our stories shapes who we are and how we heal.
Through personal vulnerability, biblical grounding, and academic insight, Eva explores how we are always interpreting our lives (consciously or not), and how trauma, grief, and delay can fragment our internal narratives. Using a framework of narrative revision, she outlines how to journey from coherence, through wreckage, into healing and the formation of a “new narrative home.”
She teaches that how someone listens to our story directly affects who we become next, and emphasizes that you don't have to be a therapist to be a healing presence—you simply have to be a trustworthy listener. This breakout equips women with language, posture, and practices to honor their own stories and walk alongside others through grief, trauma, and spiritual growth.
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