Healing After Religious Trauma

Religious and spiritual communities can offer comfort, identity, and connection. But for many people, those same communities have also caused harm. When beliefs, institutions, or authority figures are used to shame, control, or silence you, the impact can go deep. It can shape how you see yourself, your body, your relationships, and even your sense of safety in the world.

If you’re struggling with the aftereffects of a harmful religious experience, you’re not alone. What you went through matters, and your pain is valid.

At Nashville Therapy Group, we believe that healing from religious trauma is possible. And it starts with telling the truth about what happened to you.

What Is Religious Trauma?

Religious trauma isn’t always obvious at first. Some people notice it as a vague sense of guilt they can’t shake. Others describe anxiety, nightmares, or physical symptoms when they try to enter a place of worship or talk about their past. Many carry confusion, fear, or anger that’s hard to name.

You might have experienced:

  • Emotional or spiritual abuse by leaders, parents, or peers

  • Shame-based teachings around sex, gender, or identity

  • Exclusion or rejection due to your beliefs or life choices

  • A loss of community after questioning or leaving a faith tradition

  • Fear-based doctrines that made you feel unsafe or unworthy

These experiences can leave long-term scars. And because they’re often tied to systems of belief, they can be difficult to talk about without feeling judged or dismissed.

Therapy Can Help You Reclaim Your Voice

Healing from religious trauma does not require you to abandon your spirituality, nor does it mean you have to return to it. It means getting curious about what you believe now, what you value, and what kind of life you want to build moving forward.

In therapy, we work with you to:

  • Untangle shame from identity

  • Reclaim autonomy over your choices and beliefs

  • Process grief and loss

  • Understand how trauma lives in the body

  • Explore spirituality in ways that feel authentic and safe (if you choose to)

You are allowed to ask hard questions. You are allowed to be angry, confused, or unsure. You are allowed to heal at your own pace.

We Create Space for What You Need

Our therapists who work in this area have personal and professional experience with the complexity of faith, doubt, and deconstruction. Whether you are just starting to question, have already walked away, or are trying to repair your relationship with faith, you will be met with care and respect.

There is no agenda. We are not here to fix your beliefs. We are here to support your healing.

We Are Here For You

Gabriel Starner

Licensed Therapist

Spirituality can be a source of comfort, conflict, identity, or pain. Sometimes all at once. Whether you’re healing from religious trauma, deconstructing beliefs, exploring spiritual questions, or seeking a deeper connection to your values, you deserve space to do that work with care and without judgment. Our Spiritual Health & Faith Work program is led by clinicians who honor the complexity of spiritual experience and are here to walk alongside you as you make meaning on your own terms.

When you’re ready, reach out to us. We’d be honored to support your journey.


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Understanding EMDR: How It Works and Who It Helps