Rachel Hanna

Dr. Rachel Hanna is a current MATS student (Spiritual Theology) and Podcast Producer at Regent College. Rachel earned a PhD in sociolinguistics from Queen's University Belfast in 2019. Her research interests lie at the intersection of trauma, spiritual formation, and intercultural intelligence.

About the Contributor

Dr. Rachel Hanna is a current MATS student (Spiritual Theology) and Podcast Producer at Regent College. Rachel earned a PhD in sociolinguistics from Queen's University Belfast in 2019, where she explored readers’ and listeners’ responses to asylum seekers' life stories. She then worked for Wycliffe Bible Translators/SIL International for several years. After experiencing profound personal loss, she decided to return to academic study in 2023. Her research interests lie at the intersection of trauma, spiritual formation, and intercultural intelligence. She is currently working on her thesis, exploring spiritual desolation in Thérèse of Lisieux and Mother Teresa from a trauma theological perspective.

Rachel Hanna's Work
Oct 8, 2025

Hospitable Listening: The Experiences of Black Canadian and Taiwanese American Spiritual Directors
Rachel Hanna
This article explores how Black Canadian and Taiwanese American spiritual directors bring cultural awareness and deep listening to their practice. It calls for more inclusive, interculturally sensitive spiritual direction training shaped by diverse voices and experiences.
Mar 30, 2026

Is There a Trauma-Informed Theodicy?
Rachel Hanna
Can theodicy comfort trauma survivors? This article critiques rational and casual explanations of suffering and proposes a trauma-informed, practical theodicy rooted in embodied, communal practices of lament, hospitality, and hope that bear witness to pain without silencing it.