Religious Trauma

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"Growing up, my faith was such an important part of my life, but lately I can't stop thinking about how it may have harmed me." 

Religious trauma can create a painful disconnection from your authentic self. Growing up in a religious household can lead to a constant monitoring of yourself for signs of “badness,” and a heavy pull toward guilt or perfectionism. 

Therapy helps you untangle fear and guilt, reclaiming desire, pleasure, and a spiritual life that feels true to you.

Many of the people I work with have outgrown the religious traditions they were raised in, or have stepped away from communities that once felt nurturing but later felt restrictive, oppressive, toxic, or abusive.

For some, the longing for connection, meaning, and spiritual depth remains, just in a new form. For others, the work is less about spirituality and more about rebuilding trust, clarity, and self-understanding.

In our work together, I honor the many paths to inner peace and authenticity, whether or not they include a spiritual practice or community.  

I welcome those who wish to explore the spiritual dimension of life in ways that feel authentic and life-giving, whether within or beyond traditional frameworks.  

For some people, the religious beliefs and community they were part of were not only constricting, they were abusive.  Religious trauma can leave deep emotional and spiritual scars, creating shame, confusion, and a painful disconnection from your authentic self.

Religious trauma can feel like a wound to the soul.  A fracture between who you were told to be, and who you really are.  Even when they have left the church, the rigid thinking and underlying pervasive feelings of guilt often stay inside, quietly stealing joy and making a person feel unworthy of the income, relationships, and the life they desire.

When you’ve given your life to ministry, stepping away can feel like losing not only your vocation, but your identity and your way of belonging in the world.  Many former pastors, missionaries, teachers, and faith leaders come to therapy carrying exhaustion, doubt, and a longing to rediscover what feels true.  

Ministers can feel very lonely, especially when community and career are centered around agreeing with beliefs internally they haven't shared for a long time.

The call that once guided you may now feel silent, or it may be asking you to listen in a new way.  In this work, we tend both the heartbreak of religious burnout and the quiet beginnings of spiritual renewal.  

We make space to grieve what was lost, reclaim your inner authority, and explore a spirituality that is grounded, personal, and alive again. 

In Depth therapy, healing begins as we turn inward to listen to parts of self that were silenced or exiled in the name of faith or belonging.  

Through dreamwork and gentle exploration of the unconscious, therapy can help you reclaim your inner voice, and restore a living connection to the sacred within.

Each person carries within them the capacity to grow, heal, and become more fully themselves.  Sometimes that unfolding takes us down unexpected paths, paths we never imagined we'd be on, yet somehow feel truer to who we are becoming.

For 14 years I taught at a Christian university, and though I no longer participate in organized religion, I continue to hold a deep respect for the importance of personal spirituality and meaning-making in people's lives.