Module 8: High Control Religion and Sex

This module explores how high-control religious systems impose restrictive and shame-based definitions of sexuality that disconnect individuals from their bodies, desires, and agency. Clinicians will examine three core limitations within these frameworks: sexuality is reduced to moral behavior rather than a somatic and relational experience; desire is framed as inherently sinful; and consent, curiosity, and exploration are omitted altogether. These teachings often result in lasting shame, fear of intimacy, and confusion about bodily autonomy, especially among women and LGBTQ+ individuals. Participants will analyze how these messages function to enforce spiritual obedience through sexual repression and moral purity, leading to deeply internalized binaries around desire, worthiness, and sin.

In the second portion of the module, clinicians will learn and practice three trauma-informed, body-based interventions designed to support clients in healing from purity culture and reclaiming embodied sexuality. These practices focus on restoring internal safety, reconnecting with the body as a site of wisdom rather than shame, and cultivating a self-directed sexual ethic rooted in consent, curiosity, and autonomy. With careful attention to nervous system pacing and individual readiness, these interventions offer clients a non-coercive pathway to reconnect with their sexuality outside the confines of religious control. The goal is not to prescribe a particular sexual identity or behavior, but to support clients in developing a felt sense of choice, safety, and integration in their sexual lives.

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