Find healing and stability
Therapy for religious trauma in Sandy Springs
Does it feel like the ground is crumbling beneath you?
The uncertainty and questions around something that you used to feel so confident in can leave you feeling like there’s a pit in your stomach. Whether you used to find peace and safety in your faith and faith community or you never had peace or safety there, now something doesn’t feel quite right. Maybe it’s a doubt you can’t shake or a negative experience that changed the way you experience your spirituality. But now you’re feeling on edge, having trouble sleeping, and having a hard time being present.
Maybe you feel like you’re a bad person or unlovable. Maybe you have shame around your body and sexuality that’s impacting your relationship with yourself and others. Maybe you feel guilty or selfish for asking for what you need, or having needs at all.
You might be experiencing intense fear around death, afterlife, and God’s wrath. The effects of religious trauma can make you feel a sense of loss: your foundation, identity, and maybe even your relationships or community. Whether you're working through deconstruction, purity culture or sexual concerns, church hurt, or religious trauma syndrome, religious trauma often feels overwhelming, and you may be longing for some peace, stability, and safety again.
Not sure if this is you? Take the quiz.
However heavy things feel right now, you can find the peace and stability you need. Together, we'll figure out what that looks like for you.
WHAT RELIGIOUS TRAUMA therapy LOOKS LIKE
No matter where you land spiritually, working through religious trauma can help you feel like you can breathe again. And by creating more safety in your body, you will be more connected and present. You can also stop second-guessing yourself and learn to trust your gut. I have my own experiences with religious trauma, and I can tell you that life can look different. Once the fog starts to clear, you can learn to feel confident in who you are and empowered to make the best choices for you.
I like to use EMDR and somatic (body/nervous system) therapy as tools along with traditional talk therapy to work through religious trauma, but I will always create a treatment plan that best suits your needs and comfort level. No matter how we tackle your religious trauma, we’ll work towards getting you to a place where you have a more compassionate view and deeper understanding of yourself.
Therapy for religious trauma can help you…
Understand why and how these experiences impact you the way they do
Become comfortable with uncertainty
Know your needs matter
Develop a connection with your body and be more present
Create peace and safety within
Learn to identify potential red flags in unsafe people or spaces
Find identity and purpose
Trust yourself
Frequently asked questions about RELIGIOUS TRAUMA therapy
FAQs
-
No. Your spiritual journey needs to be yours. Part of you having a safe space in therapy means that you have the ability to make your own choices about your faith without being worried about anyone else’s influence or judgement.
-
My role is as a therapist, not a spiritual guide or expert. In therapy, we will work through how your questions, concerns, and experiences make you feel. We will help you identify what is healthy and safe but not what to believe. For questions about your faith, I would recommend talking to a trusted friend or spiritual expert.
-
Religious trauma can show up in several ways including religious trauma syndrome, church hurt, deconstruction, purity culture and sexual concerns, recovery from high control religion, etc. People often feel that what happened to them wasn't “bad enough” to be considered trauma. What actually happened is not as important as how it made you feel. If you had a negative religious experience or are experiencing questions and fears related to faith that are having a big impact on you, therapy for religious trauma would probably be helpful for you. Your feelings and experiences matter; you are not overreacting. Check out my free Religious Trauma Quiz to see if you’ve been negatively impacted by religious experiences.
-
No. Religion can be a beautiful and healthy thing that can bring people peace, purpose, and direction. If it is not bringing those things or it is being misconstrued, from a clinical perspective, there can be a lot of harm done. Religious trauma therapy serves to help people understand their religious experiences and choose a healthy path forward. Sometimes this includes religious faith, sometimes it doesn’t.
-
A lot of the intimacy/sexual concerns that stem from purity culture are directly connected to internalized messages about your body and sex, so therapy can be helpful in processing those messages and eventually replacing them with healthy ones. Sometimes fully addressing these concerns can involve working with your OB/GYN or a pelvic floor physical therapist to address more physiological issues. Recovering from purity culture often involves a holistic approach, and I am happy to connect you with the appropriate resources.
-
We are both trauma therapists, but religious trauma therapists have more specialized knowledge of the complexities of how religion impacts people. I am a Certified Religious Trauma Specialist, which means I completed training to further my knowledge and ability to treat religious trauma. I also have personal experience with religious trauma. So clinically and personally, I really get it.
going deeper with religious traumaPurity Culture
Shame can cause you to feel unsafe in your body and with someone you love. Some of the ways I see this show up with clients is guilt around sex, feeling numb or disconnected from their body, uncomfortable or painful sex, lack of sex education, fear around sex and relationships. I know this can feel like such a vulnerable and delicate thing to talk about, but I want you to know you are safe with me. I am not going to think you are weird or that there is something wrong with you; what is happening with you right now is not your fault. I would love to help you find a healthy relationship with your body and sexuality.
Church Hurt & Abuse
Nobody wants to accept that church hurt or abuse could happen at their church, but it does happen. And it is never ok. It does not matter who it is or how much “good” they do. If someone hurts you, the church should respond in a way that protects the victims above all else. It is hard enough to experience hurt and abuse in a space where you should feel safe, but this is made worse when people in the church don’t believe you or blame you for what happened. I want you to know I see your pain and believe you, and it is possible to find healing.
Deconstruction
In healthy faith environments, you should be free to have and express questions and doubts. Deconstruction is such a misunderstood concept, and there are so many false, hurtful messages about it floating around. Some of the unhelpful or hurtful misconceptions about deconstruction include “They just want a reason to sin or do what they want” and “They are just doing this because it’s trendy or for attention.” I wish people knew just how scary and destabilizing deconstruction can feel. I want you to know I see you, and together we can work to help you find stability and peace.
Leaving High Control Religion
Leaving high control religion can be terrifying and distressing. You may feel like you don’t know who you are or what you really want outside of this group. You may be afraid of losing relationships with family and friends, and this can be devastating. There is life on the other side of this, and you get to decide what that looks like.