Mental Health Resources
On the podcast, we often explore the complex intersections of faith, mental health, deconstruction, and healing. Whether you're navigating religious trauma, grappling with scrupulosity, or just looking to understand yourself more deeply, we believe access to compassionate, evidence-based support is essential. This list includes therapists, tools, directories, and research we’ve referenced or found helpful—curated for those on a similar path of untangling belief, rebuilding identity, and reclaiming a sense of self. There are resources to help.
RESEARCH & DEFINITIONS
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Scrupulosity is a subtype of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) involving religious or moral obsessions. Scrupulous individuals are overly concerned that something they thought or did might be a sin or other violation of religious or moral doctrine. They may worry about what their thoughts or behavior mean about who they are as a person.
What are the symptoms of scrupulosity?
Common obsessions seen in scrupulosity include excessive concerns about:
Fear of committing blasphemy, or offending/angering God
Fear of having committed a sin
Behaving overly morally
Excessively striving for purity
Fear of going to hell or being punished by God
Fear of being possessed
Fear of death
Fear of the loss of impulse control
Doubting what you truly believe or feel
Needing to acquire certainty about religious beliefs
Along with excessive worry about religious and moral issues, scrupulosity sufferers engage in mental and/or behavioral compulsions and avoidance of triggering situations. Behavioral compulsions may include:Writing prayers to check they’re done “correctly”
Excessive confession
Repeatedly seeking reassurance from religious leaders and loved ones
Repeated cleansing and purifying rituals
Acts of self-sacrifice
Treating attendance of religious services as obligatory when they are not actually so
Source:
International OCD Foundation. (n.d.).
What is OCD: Scrupulosity.
https://iocdf.org/faith-ocd/what-is-ocd-scrupulosity/ -
EMDR is a psychotherapy approach designed to help people process and heal from traumatic or distressing experiences. It uses bilateral stimulation—often guided eye movements—to activate the brain’s natural healing processes, helping reduce the emotional intensity of difficult memories.
EMDR was developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in 1987. She noticed that her own distressing thoughts lost their emotional charge when her eyes moved back and forth—possibly while watching leaves or grass move in the wind. This accidental observation led to years of research, including her first controlled study published in 1989, which demonstrated EMDR’s effectiveness in treating trauma. Since then, EMDR has become widely used and is recognized by organizations such as the American Psychological Association (APA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as an effective treatment for PTSD and other trauma-related disorders.
Source:
Shapiro, F. (1989). Efficacy of the eye movement desensitization procedure in the treatment of traumatic memories. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2(2), 199–223. doi:10.1002/jts.2490020207
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“Spiritual bypassing is the avoidance of uncomfortable feelings, unresolved wounds, and developmental needs with spiritual beliefs or practices.”
Mathieu also emphasizes that it often looks like detachment, excessive positivity, or rejection of the body and personal history.
Source:
Ingrid Mathieu, PhD, Recovering Spirituality: Achieving Emotional Sobriety in Your Spiritual Practice (2011)
THOUGHT LEADERS
Deconstruction
& Mental Health
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Focus: Religious trauma, embodiment, complex PTSD, cult recovery
Website: drlauraeanderson.com
Instagram: @drlauraeanderson
Book: Holy Hurt and When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion
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Focus: Queer mental health, spiritual harm, sexual shame
Website: matthiasroberts.com
Instagram: @matthiasroberts
Podcast: Queerology: A Podcast on Belief and Being
Book: Holy Runaways: Rediscovering Faith After Being Burned by Religion and Beyond Shame: Creating a Healthy Sex Life on Your Own Terms
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Focus: Religious trauma, embodiment, complex PTSD, cult recovery
Website: drlauraeanderson.com
Instagram: @drlauraeanderson
Podcast: Reclaiming My Theology (guest appearances)
Book: When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion
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Religious Trauma Institute
Focus: Religious trauma, spiritual abuse, recovery without shameWebsite: religioustraumainstitute.com
Instagram: @religioustraumainstitute -
An ordained minister AND licensed psychologist—bridges spiritual and therapeutic worlds.
Focus: Trauma, faith integration, embodiment, justice, psychology
Website: drthema.com
Instagram: @dr.thema
Podcast: The Homecoming Podcast
Book: Homecoming: Overcome Fear and Trauma to Reclaim Your Whole, Authentic Self
RECOMMENDED THERAPISTS
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Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP)
Specialties:
Internal Family Systems (IFS)-Informed practitioner
Trauma Healing and Nervous System Regulation specialist
Attachment-Based Therapy frameworks
Website: andrewliem.com
Instagram: @emotionsandus
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Specialties:
Self-Exploration
Trauma & Anxiety
EMDR
Addictive Patterns & Disordered Eating
Relational & Sexual Health
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy & Healthy Coping
Website:.alignpsychotherapyla.com
Instagram: @juliebrownpsyd
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Specialties:
Trauma recovery
Sexual trauma
Support for adult children of emotionally enmeshed or triangulated family systems
Spiritual abuse and religious trauma, including
Support during faith deconstruction and spiritual realignment
Website: www.williamsonwellness.live
MAJOR RESEARCH
& DATA SOURCES
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The lead federal agency for research on mental disorders. Provides reliable statistics, studies, and educational resources on conditions like depression, anxiety, OCD, and more.
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www.nami.org
The largest grassroots mental health nonprofit in the U.S., offering education, peer support, advocacy, and data on mental health prevalence and treatme
Key report: https://www.nami.org/mhstats
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Focuses on prevention, early intervention, and mental health access, with annual reports and rankings by state.
Key report:
https://www.mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america
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Public health data on suicide, youth mental health, trauma, and crisis trends.
Youth Risk Behavior Survey: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
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www.samhsa.gov
Federal agency offering national mental health and substance use data, including the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).
Treatment locator:https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/
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Leading organization for suicide prevention and crisis support for LGBTQ+ youth.
2024 mental health survey:https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-20
Academic Articles & Studies
ON THE IMPACT OF RELIGION ON MENTAL HEALTH
Exline, Yali, & Sanderson (2000)
Guilt, Discord, and Alienation: The Role of Religious Strain in Depression and Suicidality
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(12), 1481–1496
https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679(200012)56:12<1481::AID-JCLP7>3.0.CO;2-A
Abramowitz, Deacon, Woods, & Tolin (2004)
Association Between Protestant Religiosity and Obsessive–Compulsive Symptoms and Cognitions
Depression and Anxiety, 20(2), 70–76
Siev, Baer, & Cohen (2011)
Scrupulosity and Belief: The Role of Religious Practice and Cognitive Style
Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49(12), 882–887Koltko-Rivera, M. E. (2004)
The Psychology of Worldviews: Toward a Non-Relativistic Approach to Spiritual Development
Review of General Psychology, 8(1), 3–58