Religious Trauma Counseling for Atlanta, GA​
At Together Therapy, I am deeply committed to guiding individuals in Atlanta, GA, through the complexities of religious trauma counseling. The effects of religious trauma can be subtle yet profound, often arising from repeated messages that undermine one's mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Whether you seek to distance yourself from religious communities or wish to redefine your faith within them, my approach is tailored to support your unique journey.
Religious Trauma Therapy
Religious trauma often manifests as feelings of shame, guilt, or inadequacy, which may linger even after leaving a religious setting. I provide a safe, empathetic environment where these feelings are explored and understood. My aim is to empower you to identify and challenge harmful beliefs, helping to create new, healthier mental pathways rooted in self-compassion.
Understanding that each person's experience is distinct, my therapy sessions are designed to resonate with your personal story and spiritual background. By nurturing a mature faith, you can learn to embrace your inherent worth and potential, fostering a sense of acceptance and self-love. This empowerment facilitates a transformative healing process, allowing you to reconstruct your beliefs with confidence.
The healing journey does not have to be a solitary one. At Together Therapy, I strive to ensure that you feel seen, heard, and valued every step of the way. If you're ready to embark on a path toward healing and self-discovery, reach out to me. To learn more, continue reading.​
Many people don’t know what they have experienced is considered religious trauma.
What is religious trauma?
Religious trauma is any experience that damages an individual's mental, emotional, physical, sexual, or spiritual health and safety. Oftentimes religious trauma does not come in the form of one specific event, but rather the accumulation of messages heard over time from religious leaders and/or community members.
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If any of the following resonate with you, you may have experienced religious trauma:
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You think you should put others before yourself no matter what, even if it is detrimental to you.
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You feel shame or embarrassment when thinking about sex, sexuality, or even just being physically intimate.
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You feel guilty for caring about your physical appearance.
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You feel like it's wrong to wear certain types of clothing.
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You don't enjoy sex, and the thought of even trying to enjoy sex (or anything sexual) feels wrong.
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You feel guilt related to your sexual orientation or gender identity.
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You feel like it's mean for you to be assertive or to prioritize your needs.
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You feel obligated to do something sexually that you don't want to do and/or you don't enjoy.
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Realizing you may have experienced trauma and naming it as such is an important step in finding healing.
I specialize in helping people find healing after suffering religious trauma in a Christian context. If you have experienced trauma in a different religious tradition and think we would be a good fit, please reach out. I'll work to educate myself on your tradition. You also may look here for a provider who may be a good fit.
Below are common themes and questions that come up related to religious trauma.
"I have a sense of shame associated with religion, but I never heard explicitly negative messages . . . could I still have experienced religious trauma?"
Absolutely. For a lot of people, religious trauma comes in form of seemingly harmless messages heard repeatedly over time (such as "God first, others second, self third . . . true love waits . . . everything happens for a reason . . . God doesn't give you more than you can handle . . . don't make someone else stumble" and many more. In therapy, we’ll unpack the harm that can be caused by those messages and how to heal from them.
"I left my religious setting a long time ago . . . cognitively I know it’s the right thing, but I still can’t seem to shake the feeling that I’m doing something wrong."
For clients who haven't had anything to do with religion for over a decade as well as clients who still view religion as a major part of their lives, this is the theme that comes up most often. There’s a sense of shame they can’t seem to shake. Messages told to us during formative years by adults we trust form a pathway in our brains. So even we start to believe something different, it takes time for our brain to form
a new pathway. In therapy, we’ll talk about how you can become aware of and stop yourself from walking down the old pathway of self-criticism and how to create and utilize a new pathway rooted in self-compassion. You'll establish a new way of thinking, developing strategies for implementing kind self-talk so regularly until it eventually becomes second nature. We will work so that your first instinct is to know that you are worthy, exactly as you are.
"My faith is important, but I don't feel like I fit in most Christian settings.
What's wrong with me?
Nothing is wrong with you. Just like there are personality tests that help us understand why we feel more connected to some people than to others, there are spiritual typology tests that help us understand why we feel more connected in some faith settings than others. There are four main spiritual types, but most mainstream religious organizations in the southeast practice only two of those types. If you feel out of place, there’s a high chance you’re in a religious setting that doesn’t fit with your spiritual type. In therapy, we’ll figure out your spiritual type and look at resources and settings that can help you to feel more connected to your faith.
"I want to deconstruct what I was taught while still maintaining my faith.
Is it possible to do both?"
Yes, and in fact, examining the beliefs that were handed to us from religious leaders is an important step in developing a mature faith. Deconstructing what you were taught does not distance you from religion, but rather from religious persons who made you feel small, less than, or ashamed. Cultivating a mature faith can help you to feel empowered, free, and embody a radical acceptance for others and for yourself. It can help you to read that God created you and said you are "very good" and to actually believe it.