A major change in religious belief can affect much more than theology.
Religion can shape identity, family relationships, community, morality, sexuality, purpose, and the way a person understands their life. When beliefs change, those other parts of life may need to be reconsidered too.
I work with adults and older teens navigating faith transitions, deconstruction, religious trauma, family conflict, shame, loss of community, identity, sexuality, and questions about meaning.
Faith transition is not one experience
Not every faith transition is traumatic, and not every painful religious experience is best understood as trauma.
Some people are grieving.
Some are angry.
Some feel relieved.
Some are trying to preserve important relationships with believing family members.
Some are re-evaluating sexuality, morality, authority, identity, or the extent to which they trust their own judgment.
Others experience trauma-related symptoms connected to religious experiences or high-demand religious environments.
Therapy should begin with understanding your experience, not assigning you a standard deconstruction story.
Religious trauma
For some people, experiences within religion contribute to fear, shame, hypervigilance, intrusive memories, avoidance, dissociation, or other trauma-related symptoms.
Relevant experiences may include coercion, spiritual abuse, fear-based teachings, social exclusion, or persistent messages about worthiness, sexuality, identity, or punishment.
I use the term religious trauma carefully. A painful or restrictive religious experience is not automatically a traumatic one.
My own background
I have personal experience with Mormonism and with going through a significant faith transition myself and am also familiar with concerns that can arise in Evangelical Christianity, Jehovah’s Witness communities, and other high-demand religious environments.
That context can reduce the amount of cultural explanation required in therapy.
It does not determine where therapy should lead.
You may leave religion, remain religious, reconstruct a different faith, become agnostic or atheist, or ultimately relate to religion in some other way.
Therapy is not meant to prescribe the answer.
Common areas of work
- grief
- anger or betrayal
- family boundaries
- mixed-faith relationships
- shame
- sexuality
- identity
- trauma-related symptoms
- trust in your own judgment
- community and belonging
- uncertainty
- values and meaning
Sessions
Individual therapy for adults and older teens, generally age 16 and up.
In person in Edmonton and virtually throughout Alberta.
50-minute sessions. $235 per session. Direct billing is available with many extended-health insurance providers depending on your plan.
