Faith, spirituality & religious trauma

Faith may be part of what holds you together. It may also be where some of the hurt began.

Faith may still matter to you, or you may not want it involved in therapy at all. You may also be trying to separate what you believe from what was done to you in the name of those beliefs.

Why I care about this work

I’m a former minister and a seminary dropout.

Before I became a therapist, I spent years in ministry. This is personal for me, not simply a clinical interest.

I know something about taking apart what you were taught, deciding what still belongs to you, and trying to build something honest afterward. I have also supported clergy and faith leaders who need a place where they can stop being the person with the answers for a while.

I won’t assume that my story is yours. But I won’t be startled by the complexity of it, either.

Colored light from stained glass falling across an empty church interior

When religion has become part of the pain

Questioning your faith can affect much more than what you believe.

Religious trauma doesn’t always come from one dramatic event. It can build over years of fear, shame, control, rejection, or being taught not to trust your own questions.

Fear & shame

You learned to be afraid of getting it wrong

Questions, emotions, your body, or ordinary parts of being human may have been treated as dangerous or morally suspect.

Belonging

Stepping back may mean losing more than a belief system

A faith community can hold family, friendship, identity, routine, and a sense of home. Even a necessary departure can bring real grief.

Trust

It can be hard to trust your own judgment

When authority was used to control, silence, or exclude you, it can become difficult to know what you believe, what you want, or whom to trust.

Belief

You may not know what you believe now

I won’t rush you toward returning, leaving, forgiving, or deciding what you believe.

Faith and LGBTQ+ identity

Your identity is not the problem I’m trying to solve.

For some LGBTQ+ people, faith and identity have been made to feel incompatible.

You may be dealing with rejection from family or a faith community, or grieving a spiritual home that no longer feels safe. I won’t treat your sexuality or gender as something to correct. We can talk honestly about what happened and what belonging might look like now.

For clergy and faith leaders

Leadership can leave very few places where you can speak freely.

When you are the person others rely on, it can be hard to find somewhere to talk about burnout, conflict, doubt, loneliness, or the pressure your role puts on your family.

This is therapy, not pastoral counseling or spiritual direction.

I’m not here to decide what you should believe or speak for your tradition. We can pay attention to faith and spiritual practice without turning therapy into a theological argument.

Scheduling individual therapy

Choose the individual intake in the scheduling portal.

At the first appointment, tell me what has been happening. I will ask whether you want faith discussed in therapy.