My lived experience of recovery from Religious Trauma and navigating the profound changes that often accompany this kind of harm, and more than a decade of professional experience in soulcare, spiritual formation and counselling are what motivates me to do this work. As an ex-pastor, I understand the religious landscape from within. As a survivor of religious abuse, I understand how damaging and far-reaching religious harm can be. As a therapist, I understand the psychological processes beneath this harm, and am committed to doing what I can to help people process and recover from these kind of experiences.

These words from Dr. Hilary McBride, a psychologist, researcher, and author specialising in spiritual trauma and recovery name the displacement, confusion, longing and need for safety that I see in so many survivors. They are a touchstone, reminding me why this work matters, and why I am committed to relieving the distress, trauma and crisis that survivors often carry alone.

“Individuals experiencing religious deconstruction may feel spiritually displaced, having left their prior religious home yet not identifying cleanly with the purely secular sphere. Behaving in ways that exhibit a continued search for connection with sources of transcendent meaning and value, yet wary of traditional religious contexts, this population diplays a combination of unmet spiritual needs and psychological distress …

The process of leaving religion is not simply a trivial decision but an emotionally turbulent process of ‘deconstructing’ enduring aspects of a previously cherished identity. It is often spurred by trauma, emotional and social disillusionment, and intellectual crisis”.