Module 1: Religious Trauma 101: Understanding and Healing Through the Body

This foundational module introduces the concept of religious trauma as a form of chronic relational trauma with distinct impacts on the body and nervous system. Drawing from the frameworks of Complex PTSD (CPTSD), interpersonal neurobiology, and trauma-informed pastoral care, participants will explore how high-control religious environments lead to somatic symptoms such as hypervigilance, freeze responses, and fragmented body awareness. The module emphasizes how spiritual coercion and doctrinal disembodiment disrupt internal safety, particularly by pathologizing bodily sensations and instincts. Through case studies and experiential exercises, participants will identify three common somatic patterns associated with religious trauma and learn three evidence-based somatic practices—Body Awareness, Visual Orientation, and Imagined Embodied Boundaries—that support nervous system regulation and embodied boundary development. These tools are grounded in Somatic Experiencing, Polyvagal Theory, and trauma-informed mindfulness, and are adapted specifically for survivors of spiritual abuse and religious coercion.

This course is approved by APA and NBCC for 1.75 Continuing Education Credits.