Designed for Freedom Academy graduates, this three-day experience invites participants to deepen their understanding of trauma and healing through story work that weaves together psychology, neuroscience, and Biblical truth.

Inside the Experience

Over the course of three immersive days, attendees will take part in lecture-style teaching alongside facilitator-led small group story work. This is an advanced training environment, so participants are encouraged to come ready for honest engagement with the material and with one another.

What Is Story Work?

Story work is a growing term used to describe a range of spiritual and psychological approaches for processing stories of harm. In this training, participants are introduced to a specific modality for engaging trauma and moving toward healing, building on the foundational work of leaders such as Dan Allender and Cathy Loerzel in trauma and abuse recovery.

This approach brings together psychology, neuroscience, and theology to help participants explore the core narratives shaped by relationships, family systems, sexual development, and experiences of abuse. It is designed to support both personal and collective trauma experiences.

At Freedom Movement, healing is understood not only as possible, but as part of our birthright as children of God and a vital expression of the larger gospel story unfolding in our lives and in the world.

How It Works

Each participant brings a short, pre-written childhood story of harm to share in a small group led by a professionally trained trauma story practitioner. Using a proven framework, participants are guided to engage traumatic experiences with compassion and care.

Grounded in biblical, Spirit-led, and trauma-informed truth, this narrative process is applied in a way that honors the whole person—mind, body, soul, and heart.

Why It Matters

We were created for community and connection. When painful memories are revisited in a safe and supportive group, they can be reshaped through what neuroscience calls reconsolidation—experienced, processed, and stored again in a new way that supports healing and spiritual growth.

As trauma is processed, new neural pathways can form and participants begin to see more clearly how their stories have shaped them. This creates space for restoration with God, reclaiming personal narratives through the truth of His word and living more freely with an embodied experience of faith, hope, and love.

The impact reaches beyond the individual as well. By holding others’ stories with care, participants gain empathy, context, and understanding that can transform how they lead, love, and relate. As people grow in freedom within their own story, their lives can become an invitation for others to step into the freedom God has for them.

Meet Your Instructors

Karrie Garcia

Jeff Myers

Kaitlyn McCarty

Curriculum

Along with small group story work, this three-day intensive includes lecture training covering:

What story work is and why it matters
Basic understanding of the nervous system and the window of tolerance
How to identify attachment styles
A narrative-focused approach to spiritual warfare and deliverance
How trauma affects the brain and how to care for wounded places
How Jesus modeled holding and redeeming people’s stories
How to identify God-given calling from places of wounding
How to help those you love and lead identify their limiting beliefs
Daily exercises to pause, connect with the Holy Spirit, and make space to hear His voice

FAQs

Who is this for?

This training is for men and women who have completed Freedom Academy and who want to:

Understand their own story more deeply and better hold the harmful stories others have experienced
Move into greater healing in their own story
Gain practical tools for holding stories when they come across their path
Grow in or prepare for leadership
Share their story with more freedom and confidence

Do I have to complete Freedom Academy to attend?

Yes. Freedom Academy is a required prerequisite.

Are story work groups coed?

Story work groups are typically gender-specific, with men meeting with men and women meeting with women. Select coed groups are occasionally available. If you have a preference, the team will do their best to accommodate it.

Will I have to bring a story?

Yes. Participants will write and bring a 600-word childhood story to be read in a small group led by a trained facilitator. Preparation instructions and reading materials will be sent by email after registration.

What will I gain by attending?

The ability to tell your story without shame
Greater clarity about what to do when you feel overwhelmed or triggered
Understanding of how Jesus responds to stories of hurt and harm
Tools to process grief in a way that leads toward hope rather than despair
Wisdom to guide those you love toward healing without fixing or bypassing

Does pricing include lodging?

No. Travel and lodging must be arranged separately.

Where is the training located?

The April 2027 location is still to be announced. It will be held at one of the following venues:

Trinity Anglican Church
2270 Defoor Hills Rd NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
The Hope Collective
23153 W Miller Road
Lake Zurich, IL 60084

All attendees will be updated as soon as the location is confirmed.

What’s the schedule?

Thursday, April 22nd
7:45am | Check-in
8:00am - 5pm | Day One (Lunch Included)

Friday, April 23rd
7:45am | Doors Open
8:00am - 5pm | Day Two (Lunch Included)

Saturday, April 24th
7:45am | Doors Open
8:00am - 5pm | Final Day* (Lunch Included)

*Please book flights departing 8pm or later on the final day.

Registration Details

Pre-requisite: Freedom Academy

Price: $1399

Capacity: Limited to 54 participants

Included:

Three days of teaching, training, and group coaching, April 22-24, 2027
Training materials and workbook
Coffee, snacks, drinks, and lunch each day

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