Therapy for you
“Maybe therapy isn’t for me,” You thought but didn’t dare say it out loud.
You feared judgment if you questioned how effective therapy was. Why did other people say it changed their lives, but for you? It made shame bigger, messier, unmanageable.
Sitting with your therapist felt all too reminiscent of talking to your old youth leader or discipleship mentor, but when you brought it up to your therapist? They didn’t get it.
Your therapist asked you once in your first session about your religious background, and it was never brought up again. The question seemed like it was for a census report. They didn’t explore it further in therapy because they didn’t realize how your religious background shaped the person you are today and the difficulties you’re encountering.
They promised you would be “born again,”
But now it feels like parts of you have died after leaving the denomination.
when pleasure feels sinful, how do I begin to enjoy life?
Therapy Inquiry
About Kit’s therapy approach
When you grow up being told that “your identity is in Christ,” it can be as confusing as it is frustrating to learn who you are outside of the theology you once believed. You may recognize how vulnerable you are without your previous theology as a shield, obstructing your authenticity from truly being seen and heard.
This is why it’s important to work with a therapist who’s been in your shoes before of walking away from bad theology and into the Great Unknown.
Kit Morgan, LCSW left Evangelicalism and the closet years ago and into a life that was filled with joy and meaning. Kit has worked with religious trauma survivors from high control religious groups including but not limited to Independent Fundamentalist Baptist, Southern Baptist, Jehovah’s Witness, Mormonism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Calvinism, Pentacostalism, and non-denominational Evangelicalism.
What is “Bad Theology” and why is recovering from it essential for growth?
When you are taught that normal parts of your emotional, psychological, physical, and sexual development are immoral from bad theology, you learn to deprecate your own humanity with intellectualizing, compartmentalizing, projecting, or repressing. Internalized bad theology makes people feel terrible about themselves, affecting general health and well-being and relationships.
Releasing internalized bad theology is the first step to enjoying life without shame for your humanity.
Christian Counseling dilutes the art and science of therapy.
Faith is immediate. Trust takes time.
The deep pain of being misunderstood is oftentimes why a person reaches out to a therapist, and yet the risk of being misunderstood by a new therapist can be one of the greatest worries with starting therapy.
Therapy methods can be distorted in religious groups, which is why Kit tailors therapy methods to fit your needs. Therapies that Kit draws influence from and brings into their practice include:
Exposure Response Prevention Therapy (ERP)
Mentalization Based Therapy
Existential Therapy
Somatic Therapy
Gestalt Therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Attachment-Based Therapy
Narrative Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy
Exposure Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)
Feminist Therapy
Gender-Affirming Therapy
Can I call myself a religious trauma survivor?
Naming adverse religious experiences as “traumatic” can be difficult. Trauma survivors often question, “Was it really that bad, or am I being overly sensitive?” And yet, people, places, and things reminding you of the experiences are avoided because to encounter them feels too unsafe or unsettling to go through again.
The most common religious trauma concerns that Kit Morgan, LCSW sees in therapy with clients are:
Estrangement or new boundaries with family who practice the religion you left
Stress, burnout, or moral injury from working in ministry
Holiday anxiety with experiencing holidays for the first time, letting go of old holiday traditions, holiday FOMO, and adopting new holiday practices
Distracted by unwanted thoughts or memories about your religious past
Guilt with participating in religious practices, roles, or institutions that don’t align with your values
Grief from late in life diagnosis because of healthcare skepticism from your religious background
Emotional intimacy avoidance through prioritizing solitary activities, repeatedly choosing the friendzone, or engaging in pornography use more often than dating
Questioning your existence of meaning in life after leaving your religious group
Panic, confusion, and stress navigating coming out of the closet after being immersed in a non-affirming religious group
Investing in Your Mental Health
Individual therapy at The Liberated Porch is offered 100% online to adults living in the states of New York, Virginia, or Indiana— and the province of Ontario coming this fall!
Kit Morgan, LCSW is not in-network with any health insurance companies to protect the privacy of their clients as health insurance companies have access to therapy notes when a therapist is in-network.
Kit offers receipts of services (sometimes called “superbills”) for potential reimbursement from your insurance company, depending on your insurance plan’s offerings. Insurance companies may offer 20 - 80% coverage of out-of-network therapy.
The cost for individual psychotherapy is $175 CAD. For American clients, this rate is approximately $130 USD based upon the currency exchange rate.