What about a support group for spiritual/religious trauma?

Hello All, I see there were a few requests for therapists and recognition of a gap in clinicians skill sets in this area. I feel your need. I'm a traumatized trauma therapist who is creatively piecing together her own recovery because the program I need doesn't exist yet. One of my last grad classes (2017) I designed a (ironically yes) 12 step style of group consciousness recovery for spiritual and religious abuse. This exercise was the first step in a deconstruction that resulted in my surrendering my credentials. I was a member of a national Christian psychotherapy association that I knew protected Christian Counsellors with a passion for conversion therapy. I'm ashamed to admit that was the first time I really realized how abusive it was to condemn someone for their sexuality! And how there's no justifiable theological room for such treatment of another human being. I am so sorry! Respect for my clients experience and seeing the harm in the beliefs of my association, I had to depart. Oh, my regret over my two seminary degrees! But, still, more than anything I feel I need the very group that I was designing. Does anyone else? Thanks for reading. I've been a silent member of this community a long time now and this topic - is dear to my heart? Has carved up my heart? I don't know but whenever you read this, it's not too late to reply. Thanks.

Hi Megan,
Welcome to this (apparently mostly dead) message board. There is so much to talk about, so much to unpack. I can relate to feelings of wasted time; but lately, I've been thinking about what attracted me to seminary/church work in the first place. There were some really good motivations there. Many of them led me on my current path toward becoming a licensed professional counselor. However, like you, I recognize my own former actions as complicit in a system that frequently marginalizes so many different groups. It's complicated, I guess. I think the most embarrassing/harmful thing is just the way I thought about belief. What it means to believe, what our beliefs mean to God, the possible consequences of belief or non-belief, etc. I didn't realize how thoroughly I had been programmed to think and behave in a certain way. I didn't realize how feigning certainty about eternal things made rational thought and judgment impossible. But now I don't feel outraged at my former self, I just feel a sense of "what now?" How will I live out the best parts of those motivations that made me such a good follower?

Megan and Jason,

I'm brand new to this group and am thrilled to have found it. Like many I too am a survivor of church trauma. I am also a seminary grad, now awaiting approval for ordination. While confident in my call to serve as an ordained pastor, I know part of my call is to specifically care for those the "Christian" church in the United States has done to most harm to, which for most of these people includes an element of church trauma. I've met a lot of church trauma survivors in my area and in our conversations I've floated the idea of a church trauma support group, which has been met with definite, if subtle, enthusiasm. But I'm not a therapist, so I'm searching for guidance and best practices for forming such a group. I would also be interested in a similar group to be in, as a participant versus facilitator, for church leaders and therapists who are survivors and working with those who've been harmed.

Megan, thank you! Thank you for looking deep enough to realize that the organizations you were associated with were harmful and for being vulnerable and honest enough to name your past mistakes. As a survivor and healer these choices give you credibility and hopefully you're giving yourself the needed grace you so richly deserve. Also, I'm very interested in your 12 step style of group consciousness recovery for spiritual and religious abuse if you're interested in sharing.

Jason, thank you for your language. I'm a high functioning masked autistic which sometimes makes it hard for me to translate my beliefs or understandings into coherent language. This especially hit home for me, "…the way I thought about belief. What it means to believe, what our beliefs mean to God, the possible consequences of belief or non-belief, etc. I didn't realize how thoroughly I had been programmed to think and behave in a certain way. I didn't realize how feigning certainty about eternal things made rational thought and judgment impossible."

I'm not always good at going back and checking different messaging boards so if either of you would like to stay in touch my email is 40yroldseminarian@gmail.com

Sarah

Hi there - I have also had the idea of meeting in our local library with others working through religious trauma, especially around the Trump betrayal by evangelicals, to put it bluntly, but I am not a therapist, so I have the same kind of curiosity how this could be done well and be healing and relaxed for people. Ideas and connections welcome- I am in (northern) Kentucky.

Wonderful to meet you all! Sarah, I will get you that Outline for that support group just as soon as I get that laptop hacked! Unfortunately I've lost access to that one - but I can rebuild it if I need to. I do feel the 12 step format would lend itself well to providing parameters for safety.

From past experience leading groups I've discovered particular words can be triggering and finding common and safe language in a group of people with religious trauma would need to be of primary importance. As well as how to handle when unintended triggers. A Chaplain of incredible integrity once thoroughly triggered me by sharing a Psalm, but they were also astute enough to recognize the harm and affirm the reality of my wound.

I have a website that I plan on building immediately because I need to start teaching yoga. I'm transitioning from psychotherapist to yoga therapist, and I need 1 years experience teaching yoga. My site is dead at the moment but could serve as a an online meeting place for such a group or for group space for facilators of healing from religious abuse. I'll soon be paying for zoom for my online yoga - so let me know your thoughts:

It's called let'sembodygrace.com because I was so thrilled to discover "open to grace" as one of the univeral principles in yoga.

When It's up and running it will have my story of how I spent a decade sending clients to yoga but never could attend myself our of fear, (and fear or people and their fears!) until I finally took my fear ridden Evangelical mind to Yoga Teacher Training at Vancouver School of the Healing Arts, and thoroughly got over msyelf!

So what are your thoughts - would a yogic domain on grace feel like and okay place if you were looking for a safe place to talk about your religious trauma?