Dr. Joy Wilson is a vivacious speaker. She captivates her audience with her compelling story about the challenges she faced as a child, and her struggles to get to the top.
“Women are gifted and skilled,” said the motivational speaker and author of ‘Ministering to victims of Incest – A model for Church Response’ her first book that chronicles her early years as a victim of incest.
A Doctor of Transformational Leadership, Dr. Joy Maria Wilson, who inspires others through spiritual teachings, said people are returning to God by spiritually enriching their families.
“We don’t have to use our bodies sexually to enrich our lives, we could use our skills and talents to enrich our lives,” she said.
It has taken many years for Dr. Wilson to heal her body and soul from the trauma of being sexually abused by her father before the age of 12. But her determination to heal and help others along the way has brought her to this point in her life.
She said there was a culture of violence in Guyana and research predominantly shows that it was men who were sexually abusing women, adding that it was a deeper issue of sin and the brokenness of families, because the family was not functioning like God intended it to function.
Dr. Wilson believes that the Christian ministry must specifically address the needs of women who have suffered childhood incest.
“Such women need to be spiritually empowered for transformational leadership in marriage and family,” said the Christian, member of the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), and the author of her recent release “Jesus Removed My Grave Clothes,” beliefs that helped her to heal and brought her lasting change.
The social work and counseling psychologist, who serves as part-time faculty for the University of Guyana and the Guyana Wesleyan Bible College, wife, mother, and grandmother, told Caribbean Life after a recent motional speaking engagement in Georgetown, Guyana, that she was born to a mentally ill mother, with whom she never had a relationship.
This forced her into foster care, where she was also abused. But her determination to overcome her unfortunate situation has brought her to the woman of strength she is today.
According to the “woman of substance” she is a “victor not a victim,” and throughout her outstanding journey, she has shared her story, and helped others to succeed after sexual abuse.
She is of the opinion that wounded women pass on wounded pain. “Women are looking in the wrong places to have their deeper needs met and that is why there is a problem of women having children for many different men.”
“We multiply our problems if we don’t get up and take responsibility, and this is where I see the role education playing,” she noted.
Today, Dr. Wilson supports the ministries of pastors and Christian leaders for the prevention of domestic violence and the redemption of women who have suffered from this trauma.
She has ministered in East Africa, the United States of America, the Caribbean and several congregations in Guyana where she lives. She earned a degree in Transformational Leadership at Bakke Graduate University, Dallas, Texas.
Her dissertation shows that incest was a silent cancer in the church. Dr. Wilson believes that Christian ministry must specifically address the needs of women who have suffered childhood incest. Such women need to be spiritually empowered for transformational leadership in marriage and family, she noted.
