Therapy for Religious Trauma & High-Control Religion Recovery
Hi! I’m Christine.
I’m a religious trauma therapist offering online therapy for people recovering from religious trauma, spiritual abuse, and the effects of high-control religion in California, Florida, and Missouri. I also support people in faith transition and deconstruction as well as LGBTQIA folx harmed by conservative religion or purity culture.
Ditch Harmful Religion. Find Yourself.
My clients struggle as you do.
Despite being intelligent, persevering, and resourceful, life feels heavy and exhausting.
When they first come in, they’re worn down from trying to outrun their doubts about faith just to keep everything from falling apart. That strategy eventually stops working. The framework they built their life on begins to collapse, and so much mental and emotional energy is spent pushing away a crisis of faith and identity simply to get through the day. They can no longer ignore the pain of being hurt by the church — pain that often goes unnamed in religious spaces, yet sits at the heart of religious trauma recovery and spiritual abuse healing.
They feel stuck because these patterns were shaped in environments where questioning wasn’t safe. This is incredibly common for survivors of high-control religion, and working with a therapist who understands that context can make healing feel possible again. They worry they’ll never find a sense of purpose or meaning, feel directionless, and often blame themselves for not leaving sooner.
They are grieving the loss of relationships within their faith community — relationships that once felt like a second family. The people they used to turn to for support either don’t understand, respond with judgment or shame, or were the source of the harm themselves. Many feel deep anger toward church leaders who overstepped their authority and abused their power, using phrases like “God told me to tell you…” as justification for control.
The pain of religious trauma weaves itself into every part of their lives. They aren’t the person they want to be. Anxiety and depression feel constant. They worry they’re failing as a friend, sibling, or partner, and their confidence at work is quietly eroding.
Before they came to see me, they feared that they would never find a sense of purpose or meaning again. They worried that no matter how they described their experiences of religious harm or trauma, no one would truly understand. And they were pretty certain that if they started admitting to themselves (let alone someone else) that they were not okay and that they were really struggling, that the last pieces they were trying to hold together would fall apart. Guilt and self-judgement were suffocating them.
Like many people in the religious trauma recovery process, you deserve support that helps you move beyond fear, shame, and guilt. Healing from spiritual abuse and high-control religion is about reclaiming your agency, rebuilding self-trust, and creating a life that feels safe, meaningful, and truly your own. Feeling alive and whole is not out of your reach.
If you want to heal from the harm you’ve experienced in religion, I’d love to help you.
Therapy for Religious Trauma
Maybe you’ve experienced religious trauma or spiritual abuse and are looking for a therapist who understands the unique harm caused by high-control religion. You’ve begun to notice how certain theological messages about yourself, your body, or your thoughts and emotions were deeply harmful—and how those beliefs became internalized over time.
Even if you no longer identify with conservative religious beliefs, you may still be living with guilt, shame, fear, or a persistent sense of self-doubt. For many people, faith deconstruction triggers an identity crisis, leaving them unsure of who they are outside of religious rules and expectations.
Working with a religious trauma therapist can support healing from spiritual abuse, help you make sense of the long-term impact of high-control religion, and guide you toward rebuilding self-trust, agency, and emotional safety. Therapy for religious trauma isn’t about replacing one belief system with another—it’s about helping you feel more at home in yourself and more grounded in your own values.
I offer online trauma-informed therapy for adults recovering from:
Religious trauma
Spiritual abuse
Faith deconstruction and identity loss
High-control religion
Purity culture
Therapy for LGBTQIA+ Individuals
If you are a queer person seeking support from a queer-identifying therapist, you are not alone. Many LGBTQIA+ individuals face challenges that are unique to the queer experience, and having a therapist who understands that context can make a meaningful difference.
You may have navigated experiences such as feeling like a minority because of your sexual orientation or gender identity, worrying about being excluded or judged by family, friends, or your community, or feeling anxious about coming out while trying to live authentically. These experiences can impact your sense of safety, belonging, and self-trust.
Working with a queer-identifying therapist can provide a space where your experiences are recognized, your emotions are validated, and your growth is prioritized. Therapy can help you process identity-related stress, build confidence, and reconnect with yourself in a supportive, nonjudgmental environment.
LGBTQIA+ Therapy Focus Areas:
Exploring and embracing your identity
Healing from internalized homophobia or transphobia
Managing anxiety, depression, or minority stress
Navigating coming out or family challenges
Building self-trust and autonomy in relationships
Therapy for Artists and Creatives
If you are an artist, writer, musician, or creative professional seeking therapy, you may be struggling with creative blocks, perfectionism, or self-doubt. Many creatives experience periods where stress, fear of judgment, or past experiences make it difficult to start or complete projects, and this can leave you feeling frustrated, stuck, or disconnected from your own artistic voice.
Therapy for artists and creatives can provide a space to explore both the emotional and practical barriers to your work. Together, we can identify patterns that hold you back, reconnect you with your creative energy, and help you cultivate a process that feels joyful, sustainable, and authentic. This support can help you feel proud of both your work and yourself, reclaim your spontaneity, and restore the curiosity and play that first drew you to your craft.
Working with a therapist who understands the creative process can help you:
Break through perfectionism and procrastination
Reignite inspiration and motivation
Navigate self-doubt and fear of criticism
Develop sustainable creative routines
Reconnect with curiosity, play, and joy in your art