Professional Speaking
Janice Selbie is a Master Practitioner Clinical Counsellor (MPCC), podcast host, founder of two international conferences, and best-selling author.
Known for blending science, humour, and practical tools, she helps audiences understand how belief, belonging, and influence shape human behaviour, and what that means for communication, critical thinking, leadership, and recovery.
Her work draws from psychology, neuroscience, trauma-informed practice, contemplative traditions, and more than a decade of helping people navigate conflict, belief change, and difficult conversations.
Based in British Columbia, Canada, Janice speaks at both in-person and virtual events worldwide.
Janice’s Talks and Presentation Topics
Communication, Human Behavior, and Difficult Conversations
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Religious Trauma, High-Demand Groups, and Recovery
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Lived experience. Professional expertise.
Janice brings lived experience to her work as a speaker and educator.
A former religious fundamentalist, she understands firsthand the challenges of religious indoctrination, deconstruction, and rebuilding an identity outside of faith.
Her experience, combined with more than a decade of professional practice as a counsellor and religious trauma specialist, gives her a unique perspective on high-control religion, recovery, identity, and human behaviour.
Author, Host, and Founder
Janice is the author of the Amazon bestseller Divorcing Religion: A Memoir and Survival Handbook, and her forthcoming book The Guru Gene: From Blind Faith to Clear Thinking in an Age of Influence (August 2026), as well as The ULTIMATE Deconstruction Guide & Workbook.
She hosts the Divorcing Religion and Sex & Power podcasts and is the founder of two international conferences: the Conference on Religious Trauma (CORT) and Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture.
Speaking and Presentations
Janice speaks on religious trauma, human behaviour, communication, and the forces that shape our beliefs, identities, and relationships.
She has presented online and in person at conferences, symposia, retreats, and workshops, in Canada and internationally, including:
The Western Canadian Reason Conference
BC Humanist Association
The Conference on Death, Grief, and Belief
Helping Professionals of Journey Free
Kelowna Atheist, Skeptic, and Humanist Association
Release and Reclaim Retreats with Dr. Marlene Winell
Couple’s Counselling Centre (Ontario)
Drawing on professional expertise, research, and lived experience, Janice brings warmth, humour, and practical insight to complex conversations about belief, identity, relationships, and change.
Media Appearances
Janice has been a guest on dozens of podcasts, YouTube channels, radio programs, and other media across North America, the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Her appearances include The Thinking Atheist, RfRx, I Was a Teenage Fundamentalist, Dismantling Doctrine, Dogma Debate, Secular Sexuality, Skeptalk, Sensibly Speaking, Shannon Q, The Cult Vault, What the Church, Vinhaggornas 2.0, and Your Therapist Needs Therapy, among many others. She has also been interviewed twice on CBC Radio.
These conversations have covered religious trauma and deconstruction as well as relationships, sexuality, identity, critical thinking, communication, and navigating significant life changes.
Speaking Topics
Janice speaks on a range of topics related to how we think, connect, change, and rebuild, including:
Relationships, Boundaries & Communication
Identity, Self-Trust & Personal Growth
Life Transitions & Navigating Change
Religious Trauma & Recovery
Religious Deconstruction & Life After Religion
Purity Culture, Sexuality & Relationships
Critical Thinking, Belief & Certainty
Finding Meaning and Community After Change
Interested in booking Janice for a speaking event?
Please reach out to check availability and discuss details.
Speaking Engagement Testimonials
“Janice has presented at several of the conferences I produce, and gets consistently positive feedback. Audiences love her because she’s a stellar expert in her subject area and knows how to approach difficult and provocative subjects with intelligence, candour and humour. The work she’s doing in the emerging field of religious trauma studies is extremely important. “
- Dr. Terri Daniel Author, Educator, Grief Counselor
“Janice Selbie has been one of our most frequent RfRx Podcast guests over the years, and for good reason. She brings expertise and humour to conversations about religious trauma and purity culture. While Janice speaks frankly about topics others may consider taboo, her warmth creates a sense of safety that gives the audience permission to ask difficult questions.”
- Dr. Darrel Ray Founder of Recovering from Religion and The Secular Therapy Project
"Janice is a warm and compassionate speaker who can simultaneously challenge an audience while making them feel safe and welcome. Her curiosity about the world shines through with every word and has been a delight to have speak for the BC Humanist Association."
-Ian Bushfield Executive Director, BC Humanist Association
2026 Speaking Events
Couple’s Counselling Center (April ) - EFT Integration for RTS Symptom Clusters
Western Canadian Reason Conference (May) – How to Avoid Prison After Family Dinner
BCHA AGM (May) – How to Avoid Prison After Family Dinner
Journey Free Helping Professionals (June) – Communication Strategies for Difficult Conversations
KASHA (June) 18 – Separating from Religion
Spiritual Bypassing Symposium (July) – Disenfranchised Grief and Spiritual Bypassing
Communication, Human Behaviour & Difficult Conversations
Helping people navigate disagreement, reduce defensiveness, and create more productive conversations.
Signature Talks:
How to Avoid Prison After Family Dinner
Navigating difficult conversations without damaging relationships.
Why We Stop Listening
How Curiosity Reopens Closed Minds.
Boundaries Without Guilt
How to protect relationships and wellbeing without constant conflict.
Why Facts Aren’t Enough
The hidden psychology of safety, emotion, and belonging.
The Guru Gene: Why Humans Crave Certainty
Understanding influence, belonging, and belief in an age of polarization.
Audience Results
Participants will learn how to:
Reduce defensiveness during difficult conversations
Communicate clear, healthy boundaries with confidence and respect
Understand how identity, belonging, and emotion influence decision-making
Increase emotional regulation under stress
Create trust and psychological safety within teams and relationships
Navigate disagreement with greater confidence and effectiveness
Foster curiosity, understanding, and productive dialogue
Apply practical communication and boundary-setting tools in everyday life
Best fit for:
Organizations seeking to improve communication, psychological safety, conflict resolution, leadership effectiveness, and workplace wellbeing.
Leadership Conferences • Professional Associations • Human Resources Events • Healthcare Organizations • Educational Institutions • Government Agencies • Nonprofit Organizations
Religious Trauma, High Demand Groups, and Recovery
Helping people understand harmful belief systems, coercive control, and the path to recovery.
Signature Talks:
The Mourning After: The Hidden Grief of Leaving Religion
Understanding the losses, identity disruption, and rebuilding process that often follow religious departure.
When Sex Becomes Sin
Recovering from purity culture and religious shame.
When Belief Becomes Harmful
Understanding religious trauma, coercive control, and recovery.
The Guru Gene: Why Humans Crave Certainty
Understanding influence, belonging, and belief in an age of polarization.
Audience Results
Participants will learn how to:
Recognize warning signs of coercive influence and high-control groups
Understand how certainty, belonging, shame, and authority shape behaviour
Identify common impacts of religious trauma and purity culture
Recognize grief, loss, and identity disruption after leaving religion
Support people leaving harmful belief systems with greater compassion
Understand how shame influences sexuality, relationships, and self-worth
Rebuild meaning, identity, and community after belief change
Foster self-trust, healthy boundaries, and personal agency
Apply practical tools for recovery and healing
Best fit for:
Organizations seeking to better understand religious trauma, disenfranchised grief, recovery from high-control groups, identity reconstruction, healthy sexuality, and the psychological impact of harmful belief systems.
Mental Health Conferences • Counselling and Social Work Associations • Trauma Conferences • Grief and Bereavement Conferences • Universities and Colleges • Humanist and Secular Organizations • LGBTQ+ Organizations • Women's Organizations • Sexual Health and Relationship Conferences