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Religious Trauma + Spiritual Abuse Recovery

RESOURCES

Religious trauma therapists

Support groups, training, resources

Virtual consults with Anna

Books, podcasts, articles, etc.

Formal and informal assessment tools

Religious trauma podcast

Scholarly sources and citations

Training for professionals

Religious trauma recovery

RECOMMENDED MEDIA

Books, podcasts, documentaries, and articles related to religious trauma and cults.
Resource Type
Title
Author/Host
Tags
Link
Book
After Purity: Race, Sex, and Religion in White Christian America
Sara Moslener
Sex/Purity Culture,Christian Nationalism
Movie
Apostasy (2017)
Daniel Kokotajlo
Jehova's Witness,Deconstruction,Spiritual Abuse
Book
Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape
Jenna Miscavige Hill, Lisa Pulitzer
Memoir,Scientology,Cults
Book
Beyond Shame: Creating a Healthy Sex Life on Your Own Terms
Matthias Roberts
Self-Help,Sex/Purity Culture
Book
Biblical Porn: Affect, Labor, and Pastor Mark Driscoll's Evangelical Empire
Jessica Johnson
Sex/Purity Culture,Patriarchy,Christian/Evangelical
Book
Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity
Peggy Orenstein
Non-Religious,Sex/Purity Culture
Book
Broken Faith: Inside the Word of Faith Fellowship, One of America's Most Dangerous Cults
Mitch Weiss, Holbrook Mohr
Historical,Cults
Documentary
Children of God: Lost and Found (2007)
Noah Thomson
Cults,Christian/Evangelical,Children of God
Book
ChurchToo: How Purity Culture Upholds Abuse and How to Find Healing
Emily Joy Allison
Sex/Purity Culture,Deconstruction
Book
Combating Cult Mind Control: The Guide to Protection, Rescue and Recovery from Destructive Cults
Steven Hassan
Self-Help,Cults,Spiritual Abuse
Book
Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life
Emily Nagoski
Non-Religious,Sex/Purity Culture
Book
Cracking the Cult Code for Therapists: What Every Cult Victim Wants Their Therapist to Know
Bonnie Zeiman
Cults,Therapy Tools
Book
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism―Understanding the Social Science of Cult Influence
Amanda Montell
Cults,Spiritual Abuse
Documentary
Cults and Extreme Belief (2018)
Elizabeth Vargas
Cults,Spiritual Abuse
Video
Dear Mormon Man, Tell Me What You Do
Amy McPhie Allebest
LDS/Mormon,Patriarchy
https://youtu.be/RqBWbJIBGdA?si=wlXB36-AHTeaSMym
Documentary
Deconstructing My Religion (2018)
Elizabeth Kineke
Deconstruction,Childhood Religious Trauma
Website
Deconstruction Dictionary
Grisel Lopez-Escobar
Deconstruction,Education
https://www.drgrisel.com/deconstruction-dictionary
Podcast
Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Mike Cosper
Deconstruction,Satanic Panic
Book
Done: How to Flourish After Leaving Religion
Daryl Van Tongreren
Deconstruction,Religious Abuse,Religious Trauma
Podcast
EXJW Diaries
Justin
Jehova's Witness
https://www.youtube.com/@exjwdiaries
Book
EXJW Recovery Workbook
Justin
Jehova's Witness,Therapy Tools,Recovery
https://exjw.gumroad.com/
Book
Educated: A Memoir
Tara Westover
Memoir,Childhood Religious Trauma
Book
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress
Steven Pinker
Deconstruction,Humanism
Documentary
Escaping Twin Flames (2023)
Cecilia Peck
Cults,Spiritual Abuse,Sexual Abuse
Podcast
For the Love with Jen Hatmaker
Jen Hatmaker
Spirituality,Deconstruction,Sex/Purity Culture
Book
Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape
Peggy Orenstein
Non-Religious,Sex/Purity Culture
Documentary
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)
Alex Gibney
Scientology,Deconstruction
Book
Healing Sacred Wounds
SC Nealy, LPC
Religious Trauma,Recovery,Christian/Evangelical,Childhood Religious Trauma,Self-Help
Documentary
Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults (2020)
Clay Tweel
Cults,Spiritual Abuse
Documentary
Hellbound? (2012)
Kevin Miller
Christian/Evangelical,Hell,Religious Trauma
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ORGANIZATIONS

Support groups, training, workshops, and resources related to religious trauma and cult recovery.
Organization
Description
Resource Type
Link
Tags
Cooperative Path
Consultation groups for religious trauma therapists.
Consutation,Counseling
https://www.cooperativepath.com/
Counselors
Cult Mediation
Resources designed to help thoughtful families and friends understand and respond to the complexity of a loved one’s cult involvement, controlling relationship and environments.
Intervention/Mediation
https://cultmediation.com/
Cults
Cult Recovery 101
Assisting cult members and their families as they make the difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.
Articles/Newsletters,Research,Provider Directory
https://cultrecovery101.com/
Cults
Empathy Paradigm
Resources for religious trauma survivors and the mental health professionals who work with them.
Continuing Education,Provider Directory,Articles/Newsletters,Consutation,Other Resources
https://www.empathyparadigm.com/
Counselors
Footsteps
Services and programs to people who have chosen to leave their ultra-Orthodox communities and build self-determined lives.
Support Groups,Workshops
https://www.footstepsorg.org/
Jewish Orthodox,Deconstruction
GRACE: Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment
Empowering Christian communities to recognize, prevent, and respond to abuse.
Investigation,Intervention/Mediation,Legal or Financial Services
https://www.netgrace.org/
Religious Organizations,Christian
International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA)
Advancing education, research and understanding of cultic influence.
Research,Articles/Newsletters,Provider Directory,Conference
https://internationalculticstudies.org/
Cults
Kindred Holistic Therapy
Recovery groups and workshops for survivors of religious trauma and purity culture.
Support Groups,Workshops,Counseling
https://www.kindredholistictherapy.com
Purity Culture,Patriarchy,Grief,Processing Group
LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative
Religious trauma groups and trainings facilitated by SC Nealy. See training details: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-clinicians-guide-to-understanding-religious-trauma-in-clients-ceceus-tickets-1131362197789
Support Groups,Continuing Education,Workshops,Counseling
https://lgbtcounselingdmv.com/
Processing Group,Religious Trauma
MK Safety Net
Support, education, and advocacy for current and former missionary kids.
Support Groups,Legal or Financial Services,Investigation,Intervention/Mediation,Articles/Newsletters
https://mksafetynet.org/
Missionary Kids
Michelle F. Moseley Counseling
Opportunities for mental health providers to expand their knowledge of religious trauma and spiritual abuse.
Continuing Education,Counseling,Consutation
https://michellefmoseley.com/continuing-education/
Religious Trauma
People Leave Cults
Cult intervention and recovery services for current and former cult members and their loved ones.
Intervention/Mediation
https://www.peopleleavecults.com/
Cults
Reclamation Collective
Holding space for religious trauma through counseling, group therapy, training and consults.
Continuing Education,Workshops,Provider Directory,Counseling,Consutation
https://www.reclamationcollective.com
Religious Trauma
Recovering From Religion
Hope, healing, and support for those struggling with issues of doubt and non-belief.
Support Groups,Other Resources
https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org
Religious Trauma,Processing Group,Deconstruction
Secular Therapy Project
A directory of secular mental health professionals.
Provider Directory,Counseling
https://www.seculartherapy.org/
Secular
The Aftermath Foundation
Support for individuals leaving Scientology
Support Groups,Legal or Financial Services,Other Resources
https://www.theaftermathfoundation.org/
Scientology
The Clergy Project
Current and former religious professionals without supernatural beliefs.
Support Groups,Online Forum
https://clergyproject.org/
Religious Leaders/Clergy
The Religious Trauma Dietitian
Trauma-informed nutrition therapy for religious trauma survivors, provided by board-certified dietitian, Lisa van Leeuwen, RDN, LDN
Dietician Services
https://www.religioustraumadietitian.com/
Eating/Food
The Welcome Table
Inclusive spiritual community for LGBTQ+ individuals who are active, struggling, or former Catholics.
Support Groups,Spiritual Direction
https://www.welcometablelgbtq.com/
LGBTQ+,Catholic

ASSESSMENT TOOLS + INVENTORIES

Title
Author
Link
Codependency Inventory
Anna Clark Miller
https://www.empathyparadigm.com/codependency
Developmental Religious Trauma: Harmful Childhood Messages Inventory
Anna Clark Miller
https://www.empathyparadigm.com/childhoodmessages
FICA Spiritual History Tool: A Guide for Spiritual Assessment in Clinical Settings
Christina Puchalski, MD
https://gwish.smhs.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaskib1011/files/2022-06/FICA-Tool-PDF-ADA.pdf
High Control Group Inventory
Anna Clark Miller
https://www.empathyparadigm.com/highcontol
Inventory of Complicated Spiritual Grief 2.0 (ICSG 2.0)
Laurie Burke, A Elizabeth Crunk, Robert Neimeyer, Haiyan Bai
https://www.azspc.org/uploads/8/5/7/7/85775014/inventory_of_complicated_spiritual_grief_self-scoring.pdf
Moral Injury and Distress Scale (MIDS)
Norman, S. B., Griffin, B. J., Pietrzak, R. H., McLean, C., Hamblen, J. L., & Maguen, S.
https://ptsd.va.gov/PTSD/professional/assessment/documents/NCPTSD_MIDS.pdf
Psychological Abuse Experienced in Groups Scale (PAEGS)
Saldaña, O., Rodríguez-Carballeira, Á., Almendros, C., & Escartín, J.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Iub4w81s6wr7CopvMGdC-NVPnomHe1yL/view?usp=sharing
Religious Trauma Inventory
Anna Clark Miller
https://www.empathyparadigm.com/inventory
Spiritual Abuse Questionnaire (SAQ)
Kathryn Keller, PhD
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HWFVfCSgEa-G5OMquMBryCO7AZvLgKlh/view?usp=sharing
Spiritual Harm & Abuse Scale (SHAS)
Dan Koch
https://www.religiononthemind.com/spiritual-abuse
Values Inventory
Anna Clark Miller
https://www.empathyparadigm.com/valuesinventory
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