Religious Trauma Therapy in Nashville, TN.

What happens when the framework that gave you purpose starts falling apart?

...and the good girls, the gays and theys, the purity culture dropouts, the problem child, and the scapegoats of the congregation.

You didn't imagine it. You didn't have too little faith. You saw red flags, and something in you responded.

Somewhere along the way, you made it onto multiple prayer lists, and maybe even heard them whisper that you were lost.

The choice to leave may have been yours, or in many ways made for you. Either way, I know how much you tried.

For the Questioners

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What is Religious Trauma?

Nobody chooses religious trauma or deconstruction.

It's what happens when the place that was supposed to hold you, shape you, and keep you safe becomes the thing you had to survive, in any tradition that trades belonging for obedience.

It's often spiritual abuse: coercive control and power, overlooked because it doesn't scream harm while it's happening. It thrives in high-control religion, where the rules are different for whoever's in charge.

It lives in language like "speaking truth in love," while there’s zero respect for boundaries and shame taught as conviction: "love the sinner, hate the sin."

You were never the problem

How We’ll Work Together

We'll build safety and trust in the therapeutic relationship, step by step. You'll never be told what to think, believe, do, or feel here. You'll be met with belief, choice, and consent.

I use somatic therapy and parts-work (IFS) approaches. We'll explore which parts of you were harmed. Maybe there’s a part still grieving the community you lost. Perhaps we’ll find anger and injustice sitting in your stomach, aching to be let out. Do you notice the betrayal that braces your shoulders -just waiting for someone to stomp on your boundaries again?

Learn to belong to yourself again.

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Specialties

  • Purity Culture

    Were you a part of the purity culture movement of the 90s? You know, girls not allowed to show their shoulders because the boys have no self-control.

    You learned your body was a problem to be managed before you understood what it even was. Now you might carry shame you can't quite locate, a body you're still learning to trust, and a sex life shaped more by fear than by desire.

    Learn more about healing from purity culture.

  • LGBTQIA+

    Being queer inside a church system that shames your identity and condemns your existence is like walking through a minefield without being able to breathe. Shame was the definer within this system.

    Find out what it feels like to breathe again, to be known without apology, and finally, accepted. Learn more about LGBTQIA+ identity and sexuality

  • Leadership & Staff

    Behind the curtain is where religious trauma gets the most insidious. If you served on staff, held a leadership role, or grew up in a family devoted to ministry, the wound runs deeper. You didn't just witness the system, you held it up, often while your own pain had nowhere to go.

  • Moral Scrupulosity

    Everywhere you look, there's a "right" or "wrong." Moral scrupulosity doubts whether you're actually good — confession, prayer, or searching for hidden sin can become a loop you can't shut off. It often starts in religion, but shows up beyond it too, in politics, relationships, anywhere there's a right way to go. It might just be OCD wearing a religious mask.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • If you're still practicing, still believing something spiritual - in some or any form, but something feels wrong, and you can't quite name it, that's enough of a reason to be here. Your belief system is yours. It never has to match mine for us to do this work together.

  • Then you're exactly who this work is for. You don't have to justify the leaving, defend it, or have it all figured out. This is a safe place, and you’ll find with time that I’m a safe person - you won’t always have to carry this alone.

  • Religious trauma isn't a diagnosis in the DSM-5-TR, but it's a real injury; the kind of harm that often falls under complex trauma.

  • Yes. High-control religion and cult dynamics often overlap more than people expect. If that's part of your story, a consult call is a good place to start figuring out what kind of support makes sense for you.

  • Click here for answers to all general FAQs

Reach Out to Start

From our first phone call, I’ll meet you with belief. A consultation is a time to determine together whether we’re a good fit. You have the right to say no here, and it is always honored and respected.

There’s no need to have your story all worked out in advance.

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