Religious Trauma Recovery Resources: Books, Podcasts, Documentaries & Support

Religious trauma can leave you questioning so much more than your beliefs. It can affect how you see yourself, your relationships, and even your ability to trust your own judgment.

I'm Dr. Christine Henry, a licensed psychologist who works with religious trauma, complicated family relationships, and neurodivergent adults. I've seen how difficult it can be to untangle these experiences, especially when family, friendships, and your sense of belonging are tied to religion. I've gathered resources I find helpful in my work, along with recommendations from clients and colleagues. Wherever you are in your relationship with faith, I hope you find something here that helps you feel a little less alone and more supported as you figure things out.

Website Index

religious trauma resources.

Religious Trauma Websites

Podcasts

Support Groups

Understanding Religious Trauma & Rebuilding Self-Trust

Religious Shame, Guilt & Fear

Suggested Books

Documentaries

Navigating Relationships with Religious Family & Friends

Neurodivergence & Religious Trauma

Frequently Asked Questions

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Religious Trauma Websites

resources for religious trauma.

Suggested Books

Religious Trauma & Recovery

High-Control Groups, Cults & Coercive Control

Purity Culture, Shame & Sexuality

Religious Shame, Guilt & Fear

When you've spent years trying to be the person you were taught you should be, it can be hard to figure out what you actually think, want, or need. You may find yourself questioning beliefs you've held for years, recognizing expectations that no longer fit, or discovering parts of yourself you never had much room to explore.

Understanding Religious Trauma & Rebuilding Self-Trust

When you've spent years being told what to believe, how to behave, or what makes you a "good" person, it can be hard to figure out what you actually think, want, or need. You may even start questioning things you never thought twice about before. These resources can help you take a closer look at the messages you grew up with, how they may still be influencing you, and which beliefs and values you want to hold onto or leave behind.

Childhood Religious Messages Inventory - Empathy Paradigm

Personal Values vs. Group Values Inventory - Empathy Paradigm

Spiritual Bypassing - Empathy Paradigm

Free Workbooks on Religious Trauma, Moral Anxiety, and Emotional Awareness - Phil Drysdale

Spiritual Abuse & Religious Trauma Self-Assessment - Allison Quiñones, LCSW

Take Off Your Sandals: A Free Religious Trauma Workbook - Oscar Rivas, PhD

Rebuilding a Full Life After Walking Away From Organized Religion - American Psychological Association (2025)

Sometimes exploring your family relationships brings up questions about your childhood that you hadn't really considered before. You might start recognizing patterns of emotional neglect, chronic invalidation, or feeling responsible for everyone else's emotions. If you're interested in understanding how those experiences may still be affecting you, I've gathered additional articles, books, and practical tools on my Complex Trauma & CPTSD Resources page.

Navigating Relationships with Religious Family and Friends

Research on Family Relationships

Videos

Tips for Navigating Relationships After a Mormon Faith Transition - Truu Psychology

Navigating relationships with family and friends who hold different religious beliefs can be complicated. Some relationships grow and adapt, while others become strained by differences in beliefs, expectations, or boundaries.

When Religious Trauma Leads to Family Estrangement

Religious trauma can make family relationships especially complicated when your beliefs no longer align with those of your family. You may feel pressure to return to the faith, guilt about disappointing your parents, or find that love and acceptance seem tied to your religious beliefs. Sometimes these differences lead to distance or estrangement.

I've gathered more resources on my Family Estrangement Resources page, including help with setting boundaries, deciding how much contact to maintain, managing guilt, navigating holidays, and coping with difficult decisions around aging parents, funerals, and grief.

Neurodivergence and Religious Trauma

There's still a lot we don't fully understand about the relationship between neurodivergence, religious beliefs, and religious trauma. These resources explore the intersection from different perspectives, including lived experiences and emerging research.

Articles

Research

Documentaries: Religious Trauma, Spiritual Abuse & High-Control Groups

Content note: Several of these documentaries include accounts of sexual abuse, child abuse, and psychological manipulation. They can be intense, particularly for people with similar experiences.

Childhood Religious Experiences & Youth Programs

Religious Families & Fundamentalist Communities

Churches, Religious Leaders & Institutional Abuse

Cults, Coercive Control & Leaving High-Control Groups

FAQ

  • Absolutely. Religious trauma isn't necessarily about losing your faith. You can experience harm within a religious community and still find meaning, comfort, or connection in your spiritual beliefs. Healing doesn't have to mean leaving your religion.

  • You might find yourself struggling with guilt, shame, fear of disappointing others, or difficulty trusting your own judgment. You may also notice that certain religious teachings or experiences continue to affect your relationships, boundaries, or sense of self. You don't need to have experienced an extreme or obviously abusive situation for your experiences to be worth exploring.

  • There's no single right way to navigate these relationships. Some people are able to maintain close connections despite differences in belief, while others need more boundaries or distance. It can help to think about what you want from these relationships, what feels emotionally safe, and which conversations you're willing to have.

  • Yes. Religious expectations around obedience, conformity, and questioning authority can sometimes interact with neurodivergent experiences, including masking, sensory overwhelm, and difficulty recognizing your own needs. Some experiences may overlap with trauma responses, which can make understanding what you're experiencing more complicated.

    Read more about late-diagnosed autism and religious trauma.

  • Not at all. You may be questioning your beliefs, considering leaving your religion, or wanting to hold onto parts of your faith while rethinking others. There's room for all of that in our work together, and you don't need to have it figured out before starting therapy.

    My focus is on helping you understand how your religious experiences have shaped you, work through what has been harmful, and figure out what feels right for you. I won't push you toward or away from religion. I simply ask that you're open to exploring how your religious experiences may be affecting you, even if you ultimately choose to stay in your faith.

Adding To This Page…

I am continuously adding to this page as I get new information so come check back to see new additions. If you have any resources that you have found helpful but are not listed please email me as I would love to add them: henry@therapyforpetpeople.com

Please forgive any typos or broken links. As an ADHDer it’s a challenge for me to keep up but I am making it a priority as this page is truly a labor of love. Be sure to forward the link to others in your life who may benefit from this information. Bring some food and water as this is a deep deep dive into all things neurodivergent.

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Questions? Need Support?

If you have questions or need support, please reach out to me! This journey can be difficult, but you don’t have to walk it alone.

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