Religious Trauma Therapy in Pensacola, FL

If you’ve been harmed by rigid religious systems, spiritual abuse, or fear-based teachings, it makes sense that you may feel overwhelmed, confused, or even ashamed for still feeling the effects.

You’re not alone—and you’re not overreacting.

Healing Is Possible—and It’s Transformative

Religious trauma can deeply affect your self-worth, relationships, and ability to trust your inner voice. Through EMDR, we’ll work to:

  • Reprocess painful memories in a safe, supported space

  • Explore how past spiritual messaging still shows up in your daily life

  • Build tools for self-compassion, identity exploration, and emotional regulation

  • Reconnect with your own values—separate from what was once handed to you

This Might Be for You If You Feel…

Disillusioned by the betrayal of people who were supposed to care

Panicked when talking about faith or setting foot in a church

Disconnected from the community that once felt like home

Conflicted about your beliefs or ashamed of your story

Confused by having both good and painful memories from the same place

Regretful for having believed or participated in harmful systems

Religious trauma can deeply affect your self-worth, relationships, and ability to trust your inner voice. Through EMDR, we’ll work to:

  • Reprocess painful memories in a safe, supported space

  • Explore how past spiritual messaging still shows up in your daily life

  • Build tools for self-compassion, identity exploration, and emotional regulation

  • Reconnect with your own values—separate from what was once handed to you

As a Pensacola-based EMDR therapist, I specialize in helping adults across Florida and Alabama work through harmful religious conditioning. I help you reconnect with your identity outside of religion so that you can move forward with clarity, confidence and peace.

It's Okay to Question, It's Okay to Heal.

“I didn’t realize how deeply my past church experiences were still affecting me—until I finally started unpacking it in therapy. For the first time, I feel like I’m allowed to question, to feel, and to finally heal.”
— Past Client

What you’ll gain from working on religious trauma:

Clarity around your faith and identity

  • Tools to manage anxiety, grief, and stress

  • Freedom from shame-based teachings

  • A renewed connection to your values

  • Confidence to define your path forward

Why EMDR Intensives Work for Religious Trauma

Weekly therapy has its place—but sometimes it’s not enough for deep wounds. EMDR intensives offer:

  • Longer sessions for deeper, uninterrupted healing

  • A focused environment to process shame, fear, or guilt without getting “cut off”

  • Faster progress (clients often see weeks or months of growth in just a few days)

  • Space to question and reclaim your beliefs without judgment

Whether you’re recovering from spiritual abuse, leaving high-control communities, or navigating religious rejection as a queer or neurodivergent person—you deserve healing on your terms.

Clients who choose EMDR intensives often tell me they’ve made more progress in a few days than they did in months of traditional therapy. Don’t get me wrong, traditional therapy has its place too, but when we’re talking trauma, nothing hits the same as actually reprocessing the trauma with something like EMDR.

In-Person & Virtual Therapy Available

I offer EMDR intensives in Pensacola and virtually across Florida and Alabama. Many clients also choose to travel here to combine healing with a peaceful beach getaway.

  • In-person in Pensacola, FL

  • Virtual sessions available for FL & AL residents

  • Traveling in for a few days? Let’s plan your intensive together.

FAQs about religious trauma

  • Religious trauma refers to the emotional and psychological pain resulting from negative experiences within a religious context, such as abuse, shaming, or harmful teachings.

  • Signs may include feelings of guilt, shame, anxiety, depression, difficulty trusting others, or conflict about your beliefs. If these feelings are impacting your daily life, it might be helpful to explore them further.

  • Any experience of a religious belief, practice, or structure that undermines an individual’s sense of safety or autonomy, and/or negatively impacts their physical, social, emotional, relational, or psychological well-being. (Reclamation Collective, Religious Trauma Institute)

    Certain communities are at a higher risk of Adverse Religious Experiences including: women and children (Men holding power/patriarchy/ageism); LGBTQIA community (Condemning messages about LGBTQ persons/homophobia), BIPOC (white supremacy), anyone living with chronic health conditions, mental health, or neurodiverse individuals (ableism).

  • EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy that helps individuals process distressing memories. It can be particularly effective for trauma, allowing you to reframe and integrate painful experiences.

  • It's common to feel conflicted. Therapy can help you navigate your feelings about your community and develop strategies to protect your well-being.

  • The conscious or unconscious use of power to direct, control, or manipulate another’s body, thoughts, emotions, actions, or capacity for choice, freedom, or autonomy within a spiritual of religious context (Reclamation Collective & Religious Trauma Institute).

  • Yes! I offer secure, HIPAA-compliant virtual EMDR intensives to clients across Florida and Alabama. Many clients prefer virtual therapy when discussing sensitive spiritual or religious experiences, and we can create a supportive space no matter where you're located.

  • Absolutely. Many clients who come to me for religious trauma therapy are still sorting through what they believe—or whether they believe in anything at all. You don’t need to have it all figured out to begin healing. This is a space where you can safely question, process, and explore your experience without pressure, judgment, or an agenda. Often times, this process helps clients gain clarity so that they feel more confident in their beliefs, whatever that may be. Whether you’re deconstructing your faith, recovering from spiritual abuse, or simply feeling lost after leaving a religious community, therapy can help you find your footing again.

  • That’s more common than you might think—especially for those dealing with religious trauma. Traditional weekly therapy can feel slow or disconnected when the pain runs deep. EMDR intensives are different and powerful. They allow us to stay in the work longer, process more in each session, and build momentum in your healing. No more broken up sessions where you have to continuously unpack and then re-pack the same traumas each week because you don’t have enough time to really work through them fully. Many clients who didn’t feel progress in previous therapy find that intensives help them finally move forward!

  • Only if and when you're ready! While we may explore how your experiences shaped you or any negative beliefs you carry, you’re always in control of what you share. This isn’t about reliving trauma—it’s about gently unpacking what’s still impacting you, and using EMDR to release the emotional charge. Whether your story is full of fear, shame, confusion, or grief, I’ll meet you with compassion and care. You share whatever you are comfortable with, always!