Religious Trauma Therapy In Lake Oswego, Oregon
What is religious trauma?
Religious trauma can happen when beliefs, teachings, or communities leave you feeling afraid, ashamed, or disconnected from yourself. Love and acceptance may feel conditional on following a set of rules or doctrine. Asking questions would raise brows and leaving doesn’t even feel like an option. Your own feelings and instincts may be treated as untrustworthy or even “evil.” These environments can be described as high-control or spiritually abusive.
Over time, these messages can become deeply internalized. You might struggle with guilt, shame, perfectionism, or religious OCD (scrupulosity). You might find it hard to trust your own judgment, make decisions, set boundaries, or feel connected to your body and sexuality.
Leaving a religion or a spiritually abusive environment doesn't automatically heal these wounds. You might no longer believe what you were taught but still feel that familiar anxiety. You may also grieve the loss of community, identity, structure, or a self that never got expressed.
Religious trauma isn't defined by whether you believe in God or choose to leave a faith entirely. No religion, spiritual tradition, or church has a monopoly on harm or healing. Like any community, some are healthy, and some are harmful. What matters is processing how your experiences have impacted you.
Areas of focus in religious trauma therapy
Guilt and shame around who you are, what you want, or the decisions you make
Sexual shame and the lasting effects of purity culture
Feeling disconnected from your body, needs, or intuition
Untangling gender norms and expectations
Grieving life experiences delayed or restricted by religious rules
Finding your footing when established beliefs no longer fit and you’re unsure what you believe instead
What to expect from religious trauma therapy
Like any trauma work, healing is a process. We often carry a lot of wounding around our sense of self, along with grief about what we experienced at the hands of a community or belief system we once put all our chips into. Our work may touch on many areas of your life, including important relationships, family of origin, and significant moments that have shaped you.
One of the unique aspects of religious and spiritual trauma is its existential element. When the beliefs that once gave your life meaning and a sense of safety are called into question, it can feel like the ground beneath you has shifted. Questions about identity, purpose, God, and the afterlife may all become part of the healing process.
There is often a lot to reclaim along the way: self-trust, intuition, autonomy, and the ability to advocate for yourself. It's powerful and brave work, and you can be begin therapy at any point on your journey
Resources for religious trauma
There are many awesome resources to support you on this journey of processing and healing. Here are some of my favorites:
Reclamation Collective: support groups, resources - including a spiritual abuse tool
Recovering from Religion: Support groups and resources for people questioning or leaving religion
Leaving the Fold by Marlene Winell, PhD (book)
When Religion Hurts You by Laura E. Anderson, PhD (book)
A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings (book)
Girlscamp: A podcast around faith deconstruction hosted by an ex-Mormon member
My approach to religious trauma therapy
Like my approach to other areas of therapy, my work is depth-oriented and trauma-informed. This means we move at a pace that feels manageable and productive, without pushing faster than is helpful. I draw from psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapy, as well as Internal Family Systems (IFS).
No pressure to understand these approaches before coming in (unless you want to!). I’ll introduce relevant concepts along the way and help you make sense of how they connect to your own experiences.
Ready to get started?
Wondering if we'd be a good fit? Schedule a consultation, and we can talk about what’s bringing you to therapy and what you’re hoping for.