This course prepares mental health professionals to spot, assess and work with religious trauma. Participants look at how it develops, including the effects of authoritarian belief systems, spiritual abuse, tightly controlled religious communities and punitive doctrines. Typical signs such as guilt, shame, anxiety, confusion about identity and strained relationships are examined. Clinicians learn trauma-informed support that respects each client’s spiritual background, and review approaches including cognitive restructuring, narrative work and mindfulness that help clients process what happened, rebuild a sense of self and take back autonomy.
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to
- Define religious trauma and describe its origins, etiology, and psychological impact across diverse cultural and spiritual contexts.
- Identify common symptoms and clinical presentations of religious trauma, including emotional, cognitive, and relational disturbances.
- Apply trauma-informed, evidence-based therapeutic strategies to support clients in processing religious trauma and fostering healing and self-agency.
Syllabus:
Objective #1: Define religious trauma and describe its origins, etiology, and psychological impact across diverse cultural and spiritual contexts.
Objective #2: Identify common symptoms and clinical presentations of religious trauma, including emotional, cognitive, and relational disturbances.
- Two case examples
- What is religious trauma?
- Religious trauma syndrome
- Common features
- Causes
- Religious trauma can look like…
- Chat prompt
- Examples
- Video: “Religious Trauma”
Objective #3: Apply trauma-informed, evidence-based therapeutic strategies to support clients in processing religious trauma and fostering healing and self-agency.
- Validation and cultural humility examples
- Reflection exercise for clinicians
- Clinical skills lab exercise
- Using dialectics to address RT
- Dialectical statements
- Useful clinical mnemonics for RT
- Treatment approaches for RT
- Screening and assessment
- Video: “6 Steps to Healing from religious trauma”
- Dear Clinician exercise
- Clinical integration summary
- Resources and handout review
- Closing Q&A
Social workers completing this course receive 3 Clinical asynchronous continuing education credits.
For other board approvals, this course qualifies for 3 Clinical continuing education training.
Instructor: Diane Bigler, LCSW, LSCSW
Recording Date: July 18, 2026
CEUS On-Demand, LLC, provider #2274, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 08/7/2026 - 08/6/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 3hrs Clinical continuing education credits.
CEUs On-Demand, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7091. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CEUs On-Demand, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
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Request for Special Accommodations: Learners can request special accommodations by contacting the administrative team at admin@ceus-ondemand.com