Keywords: Religious Trauma.
I met up with Brain Peck recently. Brian works with people who deal with religious trauma and/or trauma endured in a religious context.
Over the years, I have worked with various clients—mostly from the UK and Ireland—who were educated in strict Christian boarding schools and were affected by the abuse they had gone through.
Leaving One’s Community
I have also worked with several people who had left or were in the process of leaving their religious community.
That breaking away from their community often gave rise to issues around control, self-esteem and guilt, attachment-detachment, and identity.
Brain—who has gone through this deconversion process himself—is the perfect person to ask more in-depth questions.
Furthermore, he trained to become a trauma-informed professional and focuses on helping people who go through their own process of deconversion.
More About Brain Peck
You can find Brain through his website: https://www.roomtothrive.com
His facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RoomToThrive
Here’s the working definition for Religious Trauma:
The physical, emotional, or psychological response to religious beliefs, practices, or structures that overwhelm an individual’s ability to cope and return to a sense of safety.
Have a listen to our conversation and feel free to leave your comments below.
Thank you so much for this! Just to know that there are people who understand helps. The discussion with regards to movement, has helped me to make up my mind to start practising belly dancing again. Coming from a background where this kind of dancing is seen as sexual and therefore sinful, I fear taking it up again, especially considering that I distanced myself from it a few years ago, when I felt rejected in my Christian community, because of my involvement in it. I really enjoy it, and if I can get to the space where I feel safe enough to do it again, I believe it will be a breakthrough for me. Armed with the knowledge that this is a step in the right direction, I am more motivated to try and free myself from my procastination state, to be able to just go ahead, and google for classes close to me. Then to connect. Then to attend. Then to keep going to class. Certainly there are obstacles, like my fear of not being able to afford it, or of not being good enough as a dancer, but I shall try and overcome these, even though it may take some steps backward and then forward. Once again thank you for empowering me on my journey of healing.