religious-cult-abuse-therapy

RELIGIOUS + CULT ABUSE

Make sense of your history and pave a healthy path forward.

Serving Santa Monica and greater Los Angeles. Online therapy offered to California residents.


Do you distrust authority, worry about your eternal future, or feel shame over your sexuality?

It is difficult work to know how to heal from a complicated history with fundamental, ultra-conservative, or cult-like religious experiences.

You might feel…

  • Easily influenced by wellness influencers and charismatic teachers.

  • Scared when thinking about the future because of thoughts surrounding:

    • Goodness

    • Purity

    • Afterlife

  • Distrustful of authority or believe that hidden agendas are behind all government or organizations.

  • Lost and scared when trying to untangle from your religious or cult experience.

  • Low self-esteem and loss of identity when separate from the cult-like group.

Religious trauma is especially difficult to untangle because most of our relationships, identity and community experiences are wrapped up in a church or community that hurt us. You’ve experienced religious trauma if you’ve experienced:

  • Sexual assault or abuse by a church member

  • Coercive control by members or leadership of a church or group

  • Verbal assaults or threats from a group member or leader

  • Forced marriage or sexual experiences based on the needs of the church/group, rather than you as an individual

  • Gaslighting and told you are crazy when you challenge church/group leadership

  • Church leadership telling you that God will be upset, angry or vengeful with you if you don’t follow their instructions or leadership

  • Demands to fast or ignore human needs in order to reach some divine expectation.

  • Church members or leaders shaming you for seeking medical intervention

Make sense of your history and pave a healthy path forward in your life.

These experiences are terrifying and upsetting.

Our staff has advanced degrees in psychology and theology to help you untangle your history of religious trauma.

We are here to support you.

 Therapists specializing in religious abuse + Cult Trauma:

Don’t know if you have religious trauma?

Take our free religious trauma quiz to learn if you have any of the symptoms of spiritual abuse.

 Schedule a Free Consultation with Our Therapist Matchamker

 Not quite ready for therapy but you need something to support your recovery?

Our therapists combine their collective experience and offer a monthly membership where we teach you about religious trauma and cult dynamics, how to protect yourself against coercive control, and how to cope in the aftermath of leaving a toxic religious or spiritual community.

Introducing… A Year of Non-Magical Thinking

A Year of Non-Magical Thinking is a safe and supportive environment to learn

  • The ins and outs of religious trauma and cult recovery

  • How to spot narcissistic leadership and abuse

  • How to protect yourself against coercive control

  • Where to find support when you’re ready to get out of the toxic community

  • Realistic and easy-to-implement coping skills to manage your overwhelm, sadness, anger anxiety, and grief

  • How to manage your guilt and shame

We do this with:

  • Monthly content dropped every 30 days.

  • Monthly group coaching and Q+A calls with Dr. Quincee Gideon

  • A private space to discuss, ask questions, and get resources from other group members

Come join us at A Year of Non-Magical Thinking today (you can join and leave at any time).

 

 Read more about our approach to treating religious trauma on our blog.

Featured
Religious Trauma and OCD
Religious Trauma and OCD

Why do so many religious trauma survivors have OCD? Something that you may not know is that religious trauma and obsessive, compulsive symptoms frequently go hand-in-hand. This might be a little difficult to grasp so take your time reading this post. If you have OCD and religious trauma, it could be relieving for you to realize the connection is not just you. 

Religious Trauma and Delayed Sexual Development
Religious Trauma and Delayed Sexual Development

One of the most painful aspects of religious trauma is sexual repression. In psychological research, we see that early life trauma results in developmental delays. This is because brain development can be interrupted by maltreatment, neglect, or abuse in adolescence or childhood.

Religious Trauma and Delayed Relational Development 
Religious Trauma and Delayed Relational Development 

In rigid, high-control religious environments, you may be taught that there is a specific way to relate to others that is permissible in the eyes of God. This formulaic, dogmatic, and fear-based teaching may get in the way of healthy relational development.