Spiritual Trauma
Recovery
Creating Safe Space for you to
heal from spiritual trauma in Nashville, TN.
You may have arrived here if you…
- You’ve experienced spiritual trauma, religious manipulation, or emotional harm within a religious or spiritual context.
- You feel your religion is toxic and distressing due to coercion or unsupportive environments or people.
- You are experiencing a joyless Christianity; the pain and confusion caused by spiritual abuse have led your faith to no longer make sense.
- You’ve faced harm or abuse from a faith leader, leaving you wounded and angry towards God and the church.
- You questioned your sexuality, faith, or theology, and the church community shunned you or declared that you were no longer considered a Christian.
“However you arrived, I’m so glad you’re here. I would love to support you in your complex trauma with my Spiritual Trauma Recovery services.”
— Tyler Nicodem, M.A. Owner of Worthy Counseling Center
Church leaders always assert their infallibility; they deem you untrustworthy. You hear that God loves you, but inside, it feels like God can barely stand the sight of you.
Also, you are always trying to measure up. Church makes you sad and holds you in a state of feeling stuck. You might choose to cope by withdrawing entirely from your community, fearing potential judgment or shame from your loved ones and deciding it’s safer to keep a distance. All the while, you are experiencing joyless Christianity.
You may have become closer to your abuser, allowing them to do or say things to you that you otherwise would not allow. The line between where they end you begin is blurry. You feel a sense of hopelessness and worthlessness. Will it ever end?
Perhaps you’ve courageously attempted to share your story of abuse with family or other church members, only to be met with unbelief or religious manipulation. Your community or faith leader tries to take away what happened to you: “Did that really happen?” or “Do you know what this would do to the church if you spoke out?” or “They were right, the bible says so.”
Most importantly, you deserve recovery from your spiritual trauma.
You need someone who is willing to listen and advocate to stop spiritual abuse. You need a space that hears, sees, and cares for you. You need religious trauma counseling.
”Spiritual trauma is a real thing. Every Sunday, many of our churches tell people they are unworthy, sinful, and wretched. It isn’t sustainable.
Instead, I want my clients to know that God sees us as Holy, Worthy, and Loved. That’s why I started Worthy Counseling, to help those in need of spiritual abuse recovery.”
— Tyler Nicodem, M.A. Owner of Worthy Counseling Center
Resources
Spiritual Trauma is difficult to navigate. Each person has a unique experience that is personal to them. Below are some helpful resources for your exploration as you try to make sense of this process.
Books
- Most Books by Brian Mclaren
- Faith Shift — Kathy Escobar
- Leaving Church — Barbara Brown Taylor
- Learning to Walk in the Dark — Barbara Brown Taylor
- Can You Drink The Cup? — Henri Nouwen
- The Seven Story Mountain — Thomas Merton
- Sex, God, and The Conservative Church — Tina Schermer Sellers
- Let Your Life Speak — Parker Palmer
- A Hidden Wholeness — Parker Palmer
Podcasts
Churches in Nashville, TN. For Those With Spiritual Trauma
- Spero Dei — Modern service
- GracePointe — Modern service
- First Unitarian Universalist of Nashville — Traditional service
- Greater Unitarian Universalist of Nashville — Traditional service
- The United Methodist Church (UMC) — Traditional service
- The Presbyterian Church of United States of America (PCUSA) — Traditional Services