When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion

by Laura E. Anderson

Publisher:

Brazos Press

, 2023

Overview

If you’ve experienced religious trauma, you’re not alone.

Religious trauma is something that happens far more often than most people realize.

In When Religion Hurts You, Dr. Laura Anderson takes an honest look at a side of religion that few like to talk about. Drawing from her own life and therapy practice, she helps readers understand

● what religious trauma is and isn’t
● how high-control churches can be harmful and abusive
● how elements of fundamentalist church life cause psychological, relational, physical, and spiritual damage
● the growing phenomenon of religious trauma and spiritual abuse
● how to embark on a journey of living as healing individuals and to find a new foundation to stand on

Recognizing that healing from trauma is a lifelong rather than a linear process, Dr. Anderson offers markers of spiritual healing for those coming out of painful religious experiences and hope for finding wholeness after religious trauma.

”Anderson strikes a smart, balanced tone. An exemplary guide to an understudied issue."--Publishers Weekly

”An exposé of the dangers of high-control religions that makes it easier to recognize and resist religious abuse."--Foreword Reviews

From the Back Cover

If You’ve Experienced Religious Trauma, You’re Not Alone

Religious trauma is something that happens far more often than most people realize.

In When Religion Hurts You, Dr. Laura Anderson draws on clinical research, stories from clients, and her own experience to show how individuals can embark on a journey of healing after leaving a high-demand, high-control religious system. She offers markers of healing for those coming out of painful religious experiences and hope for finding wholeness after religious trauma.

“A must-have for anyone in the muddy aftermath of their exit from high-control or extreme religious groups."
--Sarah Edmondson, author of Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult That Bound My Life

“The most comprehensive, reflective, and helpful book about recovering from religious trauma and church abuse that I’ve ever read."
--Matthew Paul Turner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Is God Like?

"A must-read for those who want to deconstruct the complexity of religious trauma through a lens that is not only scientific but also compassionate."
--Yolanda Renteria, licensed professional counselor

"Both compassionate and wise, When Religion Hurts You is the informative guide needed when making sense of and healing from the disorienting and painful experience of religious trauma."
--Hillary L. McBride, PhD, psychologist, author, speaker, and podcaster

"A welcome home for those struggling to leave the emotional terrain of adverse religious experiences and abuse."
--Dr. Jennifer Mullan, founder of Decolonizing Therapy, LLC

"A valuable resource that will help people not only to understand what religious trauma is but also to find a holistic path of healing beyond it."
--David Hayward, a.k.a. NakedPastor

"A valuable addition to the robust literature on helping people recover from trauma due to either being born into a religious group that isn’t healthy or being deceptively recruited into a religious cult."
--Steven Hassan, PhD, MEd, LMHC, NCC, founder and director, Freedom of Mind Resource Center Inc.

"A refreshing and hopeful voice during what feels for many of us like a time of great despair."
--Bradley Onishi, PhD, scholar, and co-host of the Straight White American Jesus podcast

Read more

Contents

Contents
Introduction
1. My Story
2. What Is Religious Trauma?
3. Religious Abuse and Adverse Religious Experiences
4. Nervous System 101
5. Rebuilding Your Identity after the Old One No Longer Fits
6. Engaging in a Relationship with Your Body
7. Stabilizing the Nervous System
8. Boundaries Built on a Foundation of Self-Trust and Self-Compassion
9. Grieving the Life You Once Had
10. Developing a Robust Spectrum of Emotions
11. Reclaiming Sexuality and Pleasure
12. Establishing Healthy Connections and Relationships with Others
13. Integrating the Living Legacy of Trauma
Conclusion
Appendix: Religious Power and Control Wheel
Additional Resources

Product Details

• Title: When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion
• Author: Laura E. Anderson
• Publisher: Brazos Press
• Print Publication Date: 2023
• Logos Release Date: 2023
• Pages: 240
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781493443154, 9781587435881, 1587435888, 1493443151
• Resource ID: LLS:9781493443154
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-06-13T16:39:11Z

About the Author

Dr. Laura Anderson (PhD, Saybrook University; LMFT) is a therapist, trauma resolution and recovery coach, writer, educator, and creator who specializes in complex trauma with a focus on domestic violence, sexualized violence, and religious trauma. Laura has a private practice in Nashville, Tennessee, and is the founder and director of the Center for Trauma Resolution and Recovery, an online coaching company where she and the other practitioners work with clients who have experienced high demand/high control religions, adverse religious experiences, cults, and religious trauma. In 2019, Laura cofounded the Religious Trauma Institute with the goal of providing trauma-informed resources, consultation, and training to clinicians and other helping professionals who work with religious trauma survivors. Laura lives with her dog, Phoebe, in Nashville, Tennessee.