Module 3: Adverse Religious Experiences, Spiritual Abuse, and Dynamics of Power and Control

This module examines how high-control religious systems often mirror the coercive dynamics found in interpersonal abuse and systemic oppression. Clinicians will learn to identify at least five hallmark characteristics of these environments—such as authoritarian leadership, conditional belonging, and suppression of autonomy—and understand how they function as mechanisms of control rather than spiritual guidance. Drawing from trauma and domestic violence frameworks, the module introduces an adapted Religious Power and Control Wheel that maps these patterns to the Duluth Model, offering a clear visual and clinical tool for recognizing systemic spiritual abuse. Participants will also explore how to distinguish pro-social religious experiences from adverse religious experiences (AREs), building critical awareness of how spiritual environments can either promote healing or cause harm to identity, agency, and relational functioning.

The second half of the module introduces three trauma-informed interventions to support survivors in reclaiming safety, agency, and self-trust. Clinicians will learn to use the adapted Power and Control Wheel as both an assessment and educational tool; practice Rebuilding a Felt Sense of Safety through somatic regulation techniques; and apply Reframing Fear-Based Beliefs to help clients shift internalized doctrines rooted in threat or shame. These interventions integrate somatic, cognitive, and narrative approaches to support post-traumatic growth and identity repair. Emphasis is placed on working within the client’s own meaning-making frameworks and titrating interventions to meet nervous system capacity while addressing both cognitive distortions and embodied trauma.

This course is approved by APA and NBCC for 1.25 Continuing Education Credits.