Module 9: High Control Religion and Relationships

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Laura Anderson, PhD, LMFT

APA CE Credits: 1.25

This program is co-sponsored with Traumastry. Traumastry is approved by the American Psychological Association and NBCC to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Traumastry maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Learning Objectives

• Participants will be able to analyze five relational control strategies commonly used in high-control religious environments and evaluate how these strategies contribute to relational trauma, attachment disruption, and difficulties with trust and interpersonal functioning.

• Participants will be able to apply three trauma-informed, body-based intervention strategies that support emotional regulation, boundary development, and restoration of relational safety among clients recovering from high-control religious environments. 

Program Summary and Justification

This program provides psychologists and licensed mental health professionals with an evidence-informed framework for understanding how relational dynamics within high-control religious environments may contribute to trauma-related psychological and interpersonal difficulties. While religious trauma is often discussed in terms of belief systems or doctrinal ideology, emerging scholarship highlights the central role of relational structures—such as authority hierarchies, social surveillance, conditional belonging, and enforced isolation—in maintaining compliance and regulating behavior within high-control religious communities (Oakley & Kinmond, 2020). These relational mechanisms can shape individuals’ experiences of attachment, belonging, and interpersonal safety, often producing relational trauma when conformity is reinforced through shame, rejection, or threats of social exclusion.

Research examining abuse perpetrated by religious authority figures demonstrates that power imbalances within religious systems can facilitate coercive relational dynamics that undermine autonomy and contribute to psychological distress (Chowdhury et al., 2022). Individuals who exit high-cost religious communities frequently report experiences of social isolation, identity disruption, and loss of primary relational networks following departure from the group (Björkmark et al., 2022; Ransom et al., 2022). These losses may produce complex relational grief and significant challenges in rebuilding interpersonal trust and support systems. Studies examining former members of cultic or high-control religious groups further suggest that early exposure to authoritarian relational environments may affect attachment processes and contribute to long-term difficulties with intimacy, trust, and relational boundaries (Kern & Jungbauer, 2022). These findings underscore the importance of equipping psychologists with frameworks for assessing how relational control dynamics influence psychological functioning among individuals recovering from religious trauma.

In addition to relational disruptions, trauma research indicates that experiences of coercion, betrayal, and chronic relational threat may affect emotional regulation and interpersonal functioning. Exposure to traumatic relational environments has been associated with increased psychological distress and difficulties maintaining stable supportive relationships (Dworkin et al., 2018; Ryu & Park, 2018). Survivors may develop relational coping strategies such as hypervigilance, avoidance, or people-pleasing behaviors in response to past experiences of conditional acceptance or social rejection. These responses are often adaptive attempts to maintain safety within relational environments perceived as unpredictable or threatening.

Building on this empirical foundation, the program introduces trauma-informed, body-based intervention strategies designed to support relational healing and restoration of interpersonal safety. Research on interoception and mental health suggests that awareness of internal bodily states plays an important role in emotional regulation and threat detection, which are central processes in trauma recovery (Khalsa et al., 2018). Somatic trauma interventions that emphasize bodily awareness and regulation may help individuals recognize internal signals of safety and develop greater emotional stability in interpersonal interactions (Grabbe & Miller-Karas, 2017). Research examining trauma recovery further indicates that supportive social relationships and improved emotional regulation capacities are associated with better psychological outcomes following trauma exposure (Calhoun et al., 2022).

By integrating research on spiritual abuse, trauma, and relational functioning, this program equips psychologists with clinically applicable tools for assessing and addressing relational trauma among individuals raised in high-control religious systems. Participants will strengthen their ability to identify relational control strategies used within coercive religious environments and apply evidence-informed interventions that support emotional regulation, boundary development, and restoration of trust in interpersonal relationships. These skills are particularly relevant for psychologists working with clients navigating identity reconstruction, relational healing, and recovery following experiences of religious trauma.