Holding Space for Religious Trauma: Lived Experience & Clinical Practice

This session, facilitated by Matt Glover with Sam Sellers, Jane Kennedy, and Elise Heerde, explored the intersection of lived experience and clinical practice in supporting clients with religious trauma. Together, the panel unpacked common misconceptions in the mental health field, how to build trust with clients wary of authority, and the importance of non-traditional approaches like EMDR, Brainspotting, Havening, and Parts Work.

The conversation also touched on the complexity of navigating personal resonance in sessions, working with clients seeking new spiritual frameworks, and responding when someone returns to faith. With warmth, honesty and clinical insight, this session offered a deeply grounded perspective on what it means to hold space for religious trauma in safe, embodied, and informed ways.

We acknowledge the Indigenous people of the lands we have recorded on. Our speakers and hosts are located on Aboriginal Country all across the lands now called Australia and Maori lands across Aoteoroa. We pay our respect to Indigenous elders who are custodians of these lands and extend that respect to any Indigenous people attending our event.