Secular Support For Religious Trauma
- Recovering From Religion
- No Nonsense Spirituality
- Through Life After Dogma – combines survivor insight, scholarship, and trauma-informed psychotherapy to help clients unwind conditioning, heal shame, reclaim agency, and rebuild identity.
Faith-Guided Support for Religious Trauma
- Accountable Faith – is committed to breaking the cycle of clergy sexual abuse by equipping faith leaders and communities with the resources and support they need to prevent abuse, respond to harm in restorative ways, and create lasting cultural change.
- Religious Trauma Network – At the Religious Trauma Network, we understand the profound impact of spiritual abuse and religious trauma because each member of our team has navigated their own unique journeys through these experiences. This shared understanding is the foundation upon which we have built our community.
- Inner Compass Counseling & Consultation, a trauma-informed therapy practice serving clients in AZ and UT. Integrates EMDR, IFS, and DBT to support individuals navigating religious trauma, spiritual abuse, and the complex emotional and relational shifts that come with leaving high-demand belief systems.
Organizations & Support Communities
- Religious Trauma Institute (religioustraumainstitute.com) — offers free workshops on topics like religious trauma and the nervous system, race, and politics, plus clinical training for mental health professionals. Religioustraumainstitute
- Reclamation Collective (reclamationcollective.com) — a 501(c)3 nonprofit run by survivors that offers virtual support groups and a clinician directory to help people find a licensed therapist in their state or province who is informed on religious trauma. Reclamationcollective
- Tears of Eden (tearsofeden.org) — a community of artists, former ministry workers, and mental health professionals who are themselves survivors. They focus on two key pillars: community (“I believe you, I’ve been there”) and understanding (language and resources to name the experience). Tearsofeden
- Religious Trauma Network (religioustraumanetwork.com) — aggregates secular, non-religious, and trauma-awareness resources, including personal stories, scientific insights, and links to support organizations. Religioustraumanetwork
Finding a Therapist
- The Reclamation Collective hosts a therapist directory specifically for providers who understand and work with religious trauma. The Open Path Collective and Psychology Today directories are broader options, though listed therapists may or may not have specific religious trauma experience. Room to Thrive
- Evidence-based approaches like cognitive processing therapy can support recovery, and treatment can be tailored to the individual’s journey. Many therapists who specialize in this area focus first on building internal coping skills — like breathwork and mindfulness — before processing deeper experiences. APA
Books
- When Religion Hurts You by Laura Anderson (2023)
- Leaving the Fold by Marlene Winell (2024 edition)
Podcasts A few worth exploring: Bodies Behind the Bus (survivor stories), Sunday School Dropouts (experts and lived experience in recovery), and Surviving the Black Church (specifically addresses religious trauma within the Black church community). Michellefmoseley
For Clinicians Traumastery (traumastery.com) offers continuing education courses specifically on religious trauma and cult abuse for therapists and coaches — filling a gap that most graduate programs leave unaddressed. Traumastery
Reclamation Collective and Religious Trauma Institute are the most well-established starting points.
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