Module 5: Deconstruction vs. Trauma Healing

This module helps clinicians differentiate between cognitive faith deconstruction and holistic religious trauma recovery by clarifying the limits of belief-based change when nervous system trauma remains unresolved. While cognitive deconstruction involves intellectually questioning religious doctrines and ideologies, it often does not engage the somatic imprints of trauma—such as fear, shame, dissociation, or chronic dysregulation—that persist long after leaving a high-control faith system. Participants will be introduced to the concept of embodied fundamentalism, where survivors mentally reject harmful beliefs but continue to carry internalized threat responses, rigidity, or spiritual fear in their bodies. The module emphasizes the importance of recognizing when clients are cognitively “out” of religion but still somatically entrenched in survival-based patterns, allowing clinicians to shift from insight-oriented work to more integrative trauma care.

In the second portion of the module, participants will engage with three somatic interventions that support clients experiencing embodied fundamentalism and residual trauma symptoms. These include Somatic Mapping of Embodied Fundamentalism to track lingering trauma responses, the “I Am Safe Within Myself” Practice to promote internalized safety through the nervous system, and Shame Release Through Movement to facilitate somatic discharge and body-based emotional processing. These tools help clients reconnect with their bodies, reclaim agency, and reduce the physiological burden of religious trauma. The interventions offer concrete pathways for clinicians to move beyond cognitive insight and into embodied healing for survivors who may still feel unsafe, disconnected, or stuck—even after intellectually deconstructing their faith.

This course is approved by APA and NBCC for 1 Continuing Education Credits.