Two people, a woman and a man, sitting together in a dark setting, each holding a heart-shaped pastry with decorative icing, smiling and enjoying their snacks. The woman is wearing a denim jacket, and the man has dark hair and a beard, wearing a black jacket.

therapy for You and Your Partner(s)

You believed in true love waits and thought you found “the one”

Until your theological beliefs about predestination came to a screeching halt.

Purity Culture was hopelessly romantic, following a storybook narrative of a knight pursuing a damsel in distress and achieving the happily ever after by marriage, but every fairytale has an ending.

I thought that we would be together forever so why do I keep romanticizing about leaving?

Portrait of a young man with dark hair, beard, and tattoos, wearing a pink shirt and light-colored pants, sitting indoors against a wooden wall with a potted plant in the background.
Portrait of a young man with dark hair, beard, and tattoos, wearing a pink shirt and light-colored pants, sitting indoors against a wooden wall with a potted plant in the background.

About Kit’s Approach to Therapy

You have a conversation with your partner(s) and realize it’s time for help from a professional. Conversations leave you exhausted because of going around in circles. Neither of you feel heard, but when you look for a relationship therapist? Neither of you feel seen. It reminds you of ineffective, pre-marital Christian counseling all over again. An all-too-familiar type of counseling that left your relationship in more doubt than before you started.

As a former Evangelical, Kit Morgan, LCSW recognized that most relationship therapy runs parallel to Christian Counseling and has deconstructed these methods disrupt healing of people in relationships.

With deconstructing the purpose of relationship therapy, Kit recognizes that the intention of relationship therapy is not to stay together forever in a monogamous relationship. Influenced by the Gottman Method, Kit believes that there are three primary purposes for relationship therapy:

  1. Become a better friend to yourself and your partner(s).

  2. Manage conflict in the relationships with effectiveness and confidence.

  3. Create shared meaning in the relationships.

Therapy Inquiry

Purity culture creates mixed messaging about desire

Why plural Partner(s)?

It is not uncommon for religious trauma survivors to explore or begin to identify with polyamory. At The Liberated Porch, Kit Morgan, LCSW affirms relationship style diversity and supports ethical practicing of monogamy and non-monogamy that is built upon informed and enthusiastic consent.

How do I tell my partner i can’t feel pleasure without pain, degredation, or humiliation after leaving my faith background?

Why religious trauma informed relational Therapy?

There are unique dynamics that impact religious trauma survivors in their relationships. Here are the most common concerns that I see in my practice:

  • Fear of abandonment or condemnation when one partner changes their beliefs

  • Uncertainty of what it means for a heterosexual partner’s orientation after their spouse comes out as transgender

  • Emerging unexplored desires after getting married young

  • Repressed sensuality when becoming young parents and wanting to explore what has been repressed

  • Shame or embarrassment for desiring kink or BDSM as a form of liberation from bad theology

  • Shifting from sexual and/or romantic partnership to platonic partnership in a marriage after deconstructing Purity Culture

  • Cultural misunderstanding when being raised in a high control religious group, but your partner(s) were not

Two shirtless men lying on a rocky surface near water, wearing sunglasses, with one man touching his chest and the other resting his head on his arm, both relaxed and enjoying the sunny weather.

the investment of therapy for your relationship(s)

Therapy at The Liberated Porch is offered 100% online to residents of New York, Virginia, Indiana, and coming this fall— the province of Ontario!

The cost of relationship therapy is $220 CAD (approx. $160 USD). Kit Morgan, LCSW who provides therapy at The Liberated Porch notices that partners find clarity about their relationships between 4 to 12 sessions. In finding clarity, Kit has seen clients deepen their friendships, walk away with tools to manage conflict effectively, and create shared meaning in their lives. It takes more than showing up to reach these goals. Each client needs to be prepared for changing their perspectives and behaviors outside of the therapy sessions to receive the most benefits from relational therapy.

Please note that Kit Morgan, LCSW does not provide relational therapy to clients where domestic abuse has been present. If you have been experiencing abuse in your relationship, please reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline for developing a plan to reach safety 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)  

learn more about the liberated porch from our blog, podcast, and social media