RELIGIOUS TRAUMA THERAPY IN SEATTLE
AND THROUGHOUT WASHINGTON AND OREGON
When “Faith” Never Felt Like Freedom
High-control religion can shape you in ways you’re still untangling today. Maybe you learned to shrink yourself, ignore your needs, or live in fear of disappointing a system that demanded perfection. Perhaps purity culture engulfed you in shame and fear about your own body and desires; messages that linger long after the rules are gone. Maybe you grew up believing you had to earn love, obey without question, or ignore anything that didn’t fit the rules.
You might not call it trauma, but you know something feels off...heavy, confusing, or like you’re always waiting for punishment that never comes.
How Religious Trauma Shows Up
Religious trauma isn’t always obvious.
It’s often subtle, internal, and woven into the everyday moments where you feel torn between who you were told to be and who you actually are.
“My internal desires are wrong.”
“I don’t know what I actually believe and am scared to figure it out.”
“Something terrible will happen if I trust myself over what I was told.”
“It's selfish to have my own needs and wants.”
“I don’t know how to make decisions without fear.”
“If people knew the real me, I'd be rejected.”
People often seek religious trauma therapy when they notice:
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Guilt for wanting a life that feels like their own
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Fear that setting boundaries equals abandonment or sin
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Shame around identity, sexuality, or self-expression
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Anxiety when making choices without permission
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Difficulty trusting themselves or their intuition
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Feeling disconnected from their body or desires
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Pressure to be perfect, selfless, or “good”
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Confusion about what they actually believe
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Fear of being “found out”
You aren't broken.
These responses were shaped by systems that told you who you could be and who you weren’t allowed to be.
Reclaiming Trust, Safety, and Sense of Self
My approach is grounded, compassionate, and informed by both lived experience and specialized training.
We start by building safety in your body, your emotions, and your sense of choice — the very things high-control systems often weaken.
As therapy unfolds, we focus on rebuilding what those systems once took from you: your self-trust, your inner clarity, your ability to feel grounded in your own identity, and the freedom to be fully yourself without fear.
This work isn’t about deciding what you should believe or who you should be. It’s about helping you build a life that feels honest, grounded, and authentically yours.
What Therapy With Me Looks Like
Trauma Therapy in Seattle and throughout WA and OR
In treatment to heal from religious trauma, we will:
Restore safety
Your nervous system may still respond as if consequences are coming. We work gently with your body so it can shift out of chronic fear and into a sense of grounded safety, one that doesn’t depend on approval or perfection.
Relearn
Maybe you had a part that stayed quiet, a part that tried to be perfect, or a part that shut down desire or curiosity. These parts weren’t wrong; they were protective. We honor them and help them rest so you can be fully yourself.
Reclaim beliefs
Messages like “I’m sinful,” “I’m unworthy,” or “I can’t trust myself” didn’t start with you.
We will release their hold and dismantle their power, clearing space for beliefs that reflect who you actually are — not who you were told to be.