A BOOK WORTH READING: ‘The Guilt Busters’, – By Graeme Cann
In 1960 Graeme became the Pastor of the Heathcote Methodist Church, which commenced 60 years of ministry as a Counsellor, Pastor and Teacher. Over the last 25 years, he has been working toward assisting those involved in domestic violence and child sexual abuse issues. He is now focused on mentoring the next generation of Pastors to continue this work.
Graeme Cann was an angry child, despite having a wonderful family. At 17, he had a profound spiritual experience that changed his life’s direction. In 1962 he married Julia, and they joined the staff of The Leprosy Mission. For 16 years, they helped pioneer Elkanah to both wounded people and those who ministered to them. The Christian Counseling Association of Australia was born out of a vision that Graeme and others had. Julia and Graeme have four children and 14 grandchildren. In 1974, Graeme and Julia established Australia’s �irst residential counselling centre in Marysville, Victoria. Over the past 46 years, El Kanah has provided counselling, respite and training for many hundreds of people.
Graeme says, ‘Having counselled hundreds of people through the trauma of child sexual abuse and domestic violence, I have endeavoured to put something of what I have learned in print. My hope is that this will be helpful to people who are on similar journeys and their supporters’
In 1985, Graeme and a group of Melbourne psychologists founded the Christian Counsellors Association, which is now a national body accrediting Christian Counsellors. He has since been made an honorary fellow of the CCA. In 1996-2006, while Pastoring the Berwick Church of Christ, Graeme helped develop two government-funded programs geared towards domestic violence awareness and primary prevention. In 2003, The Peace in Families program that Graeme helped develop was recognised by the federal government as the leading crime prevention program.
In Australia, it is estimated that one out of every three girls and one out of every �ive boys have experienced sexual abuse in their childhood or teenage years. Australian author, Pastor and counsellor, Graeme Cann has published his second book, The Guilt Busters, to bring awareness to the sobering truths of child sexual abuse and to explore pathways to healing.
There are three reasons that I wrote The Guilt Busters, Graeme stated recently. ‘First, I wanted to help people understand the consequences for a person who has experienced childhood sexual abuse. Secondly, I wanted to shine a spotlight on the debilitating effects of guilt and shame on the lives of the survivors and the lives of all who have suffered any past traumatic event. Thirdly, through the characters in the book, who are �ictional, although their stories are true stories, I wanted everybody to know that there are healing pathways. The three major themes are; 1. The destructive power of shame. 2. The releasing power of moving projected guilt back to the perpetrator. 3. The Biblical model of forgiveness and the freedom and healing that it brings.’
“My prayer is that this book will bring awareness to the global problem of childhood sexual abuse and will help those who support and counsel survivors, equipping them to provide helpful counsel. Ultimately, The Guilt Busters is written to provide hope for those who suffer by knowing that they are not alone and can overcome the effects of their trauma”.
www.graemecann.com/the-guilt-busters
Written by Graeme Cann, Edited by Doug McDonald, doug@nlife.com.au, 12 June, 2021.
