Free Religious Trauma Support Group
Because some of our deepest wounds happen in community, community can also become a powerful place for healing.
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Free Religious Trauma Support Group with Janice Selbie
The free online Religious Trauma Syndrome Support Group offers a welcoming space to connect with others who understand the challenges of leaving, questioning, or recovering from harmful religious experiences. Facilitated by me, Janice Selbie, the group provides opportunities to share experiences, reduce isolation, learn from one another, and explore practical ways to navigate life during and after belief change.
About the Group
This group is for those who have come out of fundamentalist or authoritarian religions. Rejecting our former belief system can leave us feeling untethered and coping with multiple losses and existential questions.
Common issues for those who are divorcing religion:
Recovering from toxic Purity Culture indoctrination
Navigating marriage with a still-believing spouse
Coming out as nonreligious to friends and family
Coping with deeply religious and conspiracy-believing relatives
Recovering from religious trauma syndrome
Fear and shame
As a professional counsellor personally acquainted with religious trauma syndrome (RTS), I can relate. As a trauma-informed religious recovery coach, I can help you explore how RTS is currently impacting your life and navigate your recovery journey.
The free religious trauma support group happens each Tuesday at 5pm Pacific. Participants must sign up each week, as the group is limited to 10 people.
Finding Community and Healing After Religious Trauma
Leaving a high-control religion can bring relief and freedom, but it can also feel lonely, confusing, and overwhelming. If you’re experiencing Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS) or struggling with the lasting effects of harmful religious experiences, connecting with people who understand can be an important part of healing and rebuilding.
My Free Online Religious Trauma Support Group meets one evening each week and offers a welcoming, compassionate space to connect with others navigating similar experiences. Come as you are to share, listen, learn, and find community as you move forward in your religious trauma recovery.
Whether you’re newly questioning your beliefs or have been out of religion for years, you’re welcome to come as you are, connect with others, and find support as you continue building life on your own terms.
Benefits of group sessions
What you can expect from the group:
Experienced Facilitation: The group is facilitated by Janice Selbie, a professional counsellor specializing in religious trauma and recovery.
Community and Connection: Spend time with others who understand what it can be like to question, leave, and recover from harmful religious experiences.
Education and Understanding: Learn more about Religious Trauma Syndrome and how religious experiences can continue to affect thoughts, emotions, relationships, and identity.
Free and Accessible Support: There is no cost to attend, helping make religious trauma support available regardless of financial circumstances.
How do I know if I have religious trauma syndrome?
Take the free religious trauma quiz. No email required.
By answering a series of targeted questions, you’ll gain insights into whether your struggles are related to past religious training and experiences. This can be an important first step in recognizing the impact of religious trauma on your life and seeking the appropriate support and resources for healing.
Emotional Support and Connection Benefits:
Feeling seen, heard, and understood
Connecting with others who have similar experiences
Finding relief in sharing your story when you’re ready
Emotional Support
One of the most meaningful benefits of a Religious Trauma Support Group is connecting with people who truly understand.
Leaving or questioning a high-control religion can bring loneliness, fear, confusion, and a sense that few people understand what you’re going through.
In the group, you can share as much or as little as feels comfortable, listen to others with similar experiences, and discover that you’re not alone. That sense of community, connection, and belonging can be an important part of healing from religious trauma.
Professional Guidance
Janice Selbie brings both lived experience and professional expertise to the Religious Trauma Support Group. A former fundamentalist herself, she understands the challenges that can accompany leaving a high-control or authoritarian religion.
As a professional counsellor specializing in religious trauma recovery, Janice offers compassionate facilitation, practical tools, and education to help members better understand Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS) and navigate life after religion.
Building a Community
Connecting with people who have been through similar experiences can bring a powerful sense of belonging. The free Religious Trauma Support Group offers a community where you can be understood without having to explain everything, learn from one another, and feel less alone. The relationships and shared understanding that develop in the group can become an important part of religious trauma recovery, healing, and personal growth.
Learn more about the Free Religious Support Group with Janice Selbie
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The group is for adults looking for support, connection, and understanding as they navigate the effects of religion, deconstruction, or life after religion.
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No formal diagnosis is required, but the group is specifically for people who feel they’ve been harmed or negatively affected by religion or religious ideology. It’s a supportive space for people with lived experience, rather than a place for observers.
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Sessions often include facilitated conversation, education, practical tools, and opportunities to learn from and connect with others who understand.
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Yes. Because these are online support and educational groups rather than group therapy, adults are welcome to join from around the world.
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No. One of our group principles is that no one has to do anything they don’t want to do. Your choice and consent matter here. You’re welcome to share when and if you want to.
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Yes. Before your first session, you’ll complete a short form so I can learn a little about you and what brings you to the group. After that, simply indicate that you’re a returning participant when you sign up.
The group is limited to 10 people each week, so registration is required for each session. If your plans change, please let me know so I can offer your spot to someone else.
"Thank you so dearly for the great guidance and encouragement and finding resources to help me out on this part of the journey! I really appreciate you and everything you do, working with you has been a great blessing."
— Anonymous, former evangelical & MK"I have worked through your Divorcing Religion Workshop workbook. That was helpful in seeing that I feel pretty good about leaving religion behind. I have really enjoyed your podcast Divorcing Religion and hearing you as a guest on other programs. Your easy going, kind, and accepting demeanor is wonderful. Thank You So Much."
— Anonymous"Connecting with you has made a huge difference for me on my path. It has been very meaningful to meet and work with you. The work you are doing is so important. I know it has been vital to my healing! I have really appreciated your expertise and your kindness."
— Anonymous, former Pentecostal Holiness
Janice Selbie, MPCC
Clinical Counsellor · Author · Speaker · Educator
I was raised in a religious environment where certainty was prized over curiosity, so questions often felt unsafe.
Today, I draw on lived experience and more than a decade of professional practice to offer compassionate, practical guidance to people navigating change.
Wherever you are on your journey, I’ll meet you there.
No judgment served. Just compassion, gentle humor, and a deep desire to help. All appointments are virtual.
People choose to come to counselling or coaching for many different reasons, including:
Anxiety and stress
Boundaries and people-pleasing
Burnout
Grief and loss
Life transitions
Perfectionism
Relationships and communication
Religious trauma and faith transitions
Self-esteem and self-trust
Your reason for reaching out doesn’t need to fit neatly into a category. A consultation is simply a chance to talk about what’s bringing you here and whether working together feels like a good fit.
I offer a free, 20 minute 1:1 discovery consultation for those interested in coaching or counselling for religious trauma
We also hold affordable 6 week support groups covering rotating themes, such as navigating anger after deconstruction.
Divorcing Religion: A Memoir and Survival Handbook
What happens when your entire worldview crumbles?
Best-selling author Janice Selbie takes readers on a candid journey through the heart of fundamentalist Christianity and out the other side in this compelling memoir and practical guide.
From devout believer to religious trauma recovery expert, Selbie shares her experiences with unflinching honesty and unexpected humor.
In Divorcing Religion, Janice recounts:
Growing up in an evangelical household
Her struggles with purity culture and identity
The crisis of faith that led to leaving religion behind
Her sometimes messy path to rebuilding a life beyond belief
But Divorcing Religion offers more than just a personal story. Drawing from her expertise as a registered professional counselor specializing in religious trauma, Janice provides a comprehensive "Survival Handbook" for those breaking free from religious indoctrination.
This book is an invaluable resource for anyone questioning their faith, healing from religious trauma, or curious about life after fundamentalism.
FAQs
What is Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS)?
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Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS) is a condition experienced by individuals who have left high-control religions, leading to symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and identity confusion. It results from the psychological and emotional abuse associated with oppressive religious environments.
Do I have to be dealing with religious trauma to work with you?
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Not at all. I welcome clients working through a wide range of concerns — including communication challenges, grief and loss, identity issues, anxiety, and relationship difficulties. Whether or not religion plays a role in what you're experiencing, you're welcome here.
What kinds of issues do you help with?
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I works with clients on a variety of concerns, including:
Religious Trauma and leaving high-control environments
Grief and loss
Identity development and self-understanding
Communication and relationship issues
Anxiety and depression
Life transitions
If you're not sure whether your situation is a fit, feel free to schedule a free consultation to ask.
What is your cancellation policy?
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You may cancel any bookings up until 24 hours prior to your appointment. After that, you will be charged in full.