Religious Wounds and Somatic Therapy

At Somatic Collaborative, we specialize in trauma. Trauma can happen in any setting, but it is even more charged when it is connected to religion. Clients are often reluctant to talk about religion or spiritual beliefs, and with good reason. Many therapists are uncomfortable and avoid religious issues altogether, while others' faith can lead to gaslighting or invalidating the client's experience. While we at Somatic Collaborative are trauma-informed and ethical with every client, we take special care when addressing religious abuse and harmful experiences connected to religion.

What is Religious Abuse?

Religious abuse is a harmful experience that impacts spirituality (which is not the same as religion) and is not limited to the sexual abuse of children. According to Gobi and Jacobs (2008) religious abuse is physical, emotional, or sexual abuse (or a combination) and perpetrated by

1) someone with religious authority

2) a religious community or organization or

3) an individual who justifies abuse with religious texts or beliefs (or a combination of the three). One example of religious abuse is being bullied, called out, or shunned for a queer identity, getting divorced, or falling outside the norms in some way. Another common example is with intimate partner violence: often victims' trauma is compounded with abusive individuals quoting religious texts, or being told to return to an abuser for religious reasons. Ironically, clergy and highly religious people can also be victims because they are highly identified with a particular religion or community.

Why does it hurt so much?

You are ready to reclaim your sense of worth and goodness but there are obstacles. Maybe you can't look at a religious symbol or talk to a religious person without feeling angry or afraid. Maybe you want to explore your spirituality, but you are afraid of getting hurt or manipulated again. Religious abuse is tough because in addition to the common experience all trauma survivors face, survivors may have internalized negative messages about their worth as seen by the divine, or that they will be punished eternally for disobedience. Of course it's hard when the stakes feel so high. In therapy, we can begin to de-escalate these triggers and normalize your experience so you don't feel so alone.

Reclaim yourself with a somatic approach

Have you ever said, "I knew it in my gut," or "that's a weight off my shoulders"? A somatic approach to therapy means tuning into the wisdom that you already have. By getting away from the realm of external authority tuning into physical sensations, clients can regain trust in themselves. Some texts use the phrase "the body" to describe impulsive or bad behavior, but research shows that the body can help us with anxiety, depression, addictions (whether it's breath, yoga, dance, or a smile) so "the body" actually can help reduce troublesome thoughts and behaviors.

What is your angle? Are you religious or anti-religious?

We think of religion just like we do things like family or marriage: sometimes it's great, sometimes it's terrible, and a lot of the time it's just really complicated. We serve our clients by following the counseling competencies for religious and spiritual issues developed by the American Counseling Association. Those competencies say that your religion and spirituality can be a positive or negative. It can increase resilience or it can contribute to your problems. It also says that a client's religious or spiritual beliefs are important, something to be respected, and that we do not impose our beliefs.

Our angle is helping you feel better with trauma-informed practice (going at your pace, with your goals, giving you voice and choice). For example: you want to reduce triggers because you can't avoid passing a religious building or you want to spend time with a person of faith without over-reacting. You may want to process your feelings or articulate how your beliefs have changed over time.

We will gently help you work through your past trauma to reclaim what feels lost. If this is an ongoing crisis, we will work with you just like we work with other clients in tough situations: process your feelings, discuss pros and cons, come up with safety plans, but ultimately you decide whether to stay or go. Keep in mind that if there is active child abuse, that we do have a duty to report it so that suspicions can be investigated.

Are you ready to get started?

We want you to feel more joy, freedom, and validation in your human life and will let you lead the way when it comes to your spiritual self. Contact us or book a consult to see if we are a good fit for supporting you in your healing journey.

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