Ever find yourself spiraling into self-blame over a simple everyday experience? You're not alone. Dive into my recent experience at the library to uncover how internalized shame from high control religion can sneak into everyday moments and learn ways to combat it.

Sounds like the start of a joke, right? That’s what I thought when I wrote the title for this week’s blog post (i.e. “A priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into a bar…”). For those of you that follow me on Instagram, you know that I recently was on vacation…

If the pain, depression, and anxiety related to your religious trauma have been steering the ship for awhile, it can be difficult to imagine how anything could help…

As we celebrate this significant time of the year, I wanted to share some thoughts and reflections from my perspective as a queer-identifying religious trauma therapist…

Making new friends after leaving your faith community is HARD. Churches are often marketed as second families, and the longer you spend in a faith community, the deeper those familial bonds and attachments grow. The loss of that community…

Years ago when I was still in high control religion, I remember being at a worship gathering that I was involved in (yes, former worship leader here!) where a time of intercessory prayer had started…

Learn about religious trauma symptoms like triggered reactions, internalized shame, avoidance of pleasure, and constant vigilance against sin.

I remember from my time in conservative evangelicalism that anger was categorized as a sin, and often religious texts were used to back up that belief.  Anger was described as being bad and wrong…

If you grew up in high control religion, you likely heard messages about sexual purity, gender roles, and what defines holiness when it comes to sex, dating, and relationships…

Winter greetings from San Diego! I hope you have been having a gentle January. It is raining here today, and the power is out – perfect conditions for writing a blog post 🙂 I wanted to dive into a concept that resonated with some people…

Well, it’s the first week of 2024 and the holiday season is officially behind us! (Confession, though – I still have the Christmas tree and decorations up… still not quite ready to “un-Christmas” our space). A lot of us are letting out a big exhale.…

Deck The Halls With Tons Of Triggers, Fa-La-La-La-La, La-La-La-La… It’s finally sweater weather! The days are getting shorter, and even here in…

(It’s Okay If Gratitude Is Not One Of Them!)

Well, here we are already halfway through November – how on earth did that happen?? Temps are dropping, daylight savings has ended, the time for embracing darkness and hygge has begun…

One thing I see a lot in my work with people who are healing from religious trauma and spiritual abuse or who are deconstructing their faith is a pervasive feeling of loneliness and isolation, as well as the question of “what now?”

When I was thinking about what I would write for a blog post on religious trauma this week, I realized that my own personal experience with it is just that – my own unique experience…

As I was thinking about what to write for this week’s blog post, I thought it might be helpful to take a step back and give a bird’s eye view of some common things that people often need to address or relearn during their journey of healing from religious trauma.

As a therapist who works with survivors of religious trauma, and as a queer person who grew up in conservative Christianity, I have seen the widespread and harmful impact of purity culture in the lives of queer individuals. Let’s dive in…

It does not take a lot of mental gymnastics to understand that growing up in conservative religious communities as a queer person creates all sorts of challenges, struggles, disconnection, and pain. When your identity or who you love has to be kept a secret in order to belong…

If you have attended an evangelical church in your lifetime, you have probably encountered the doctrine of original sin. Sermons, hymns, worship songs, and prayers are often based on this teaching (i.e. the famous hymn with the line “…that saved a wretch like me…”).

If you have been a part of a high control or rigid religious community, you have probably encountered some harmful messaging about emotions. This can make it quite problematic to experience the full range of human feelings within these contexts!