Faith-Integrated, Attachment-Based Therapy in Sandy Springs, Georgia
Online Therapy Throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, South Carolina & West Virginia
For Spiritual Injury, Religious Control, and Recovery from Rigid Faith Systems
Faith can be both a source of strength and a source of struggle.
Many of the clients I work with didn’t lose faith because they stopped believing in God. They lost a sense of safety because faith was governed by rigid rules, constant evaluation, or fear of being “out of alignment.” In those environments, love was conditional. Obedience mattered more than emotional truth. Doubt felt dangerous. And closeness with God often depended on performance, purity, or submission rather than trust.
When faith is organized this way, attachment injury follows.
You may still believe in God—and feel anxious around Him.
You may still pray—and feel watched instead of held.
You may still want closeness—and pull away when you feel you’ve failed.
This work is for people healing from those dynamics without being asked to abandon their spirituality (or pretend the harm didn’t happen).
When Therapy Feels Like a Spiritual Failure
For many clients, especially those recovering from cults, high-control religious groups, or rigid church cultures, needing therapy itself can feel like a violation.
You may have been taught:
That emotional struggle reflects weak faith
That suffering should be resolved through prayer alone
That seeking help outside spiritual authority is dangerous or disloyal
That needing support means you’re “doing it wrong”
Those beliefs don’t disappear just because you leave the environment.
They follow you—into your body, your relationships, and often into your relationship with God.
This work does not position therapy as a replacement for faith. It addresses the internal damage left behind when faith was enforced through fear, control, or shame—so reliance on God no longer feels like self-erasure.
What This Work Focuses On
This therapy focuses on repairing attachment injuries that formed in spiritual contexts, including:
Fear-based obedience and chronic self-monitoring
Shame responses that activate after doubt, anger, or “failure”
Difficulty trusting God without bracing for correction
Confusion between spiritual conviction and emotional harm
Guilt for needing support outside religious authority
Rather than asking you to believe differently, we look at how safety, authority, and closeness were experienced—and how those patterns continue to shape your inner life.
As those patterns shift, many clients find they can relate to God with more honesty, less fear, and greater internal steadiness whether their faith deepens, changes, or simply becomes quieter and more grounded.
This Is Not…
Spiritual direction
Religious instruction
Faith defense or deconstruction coaching
Pressure to return, reconcile, or forgive
It is therapy for people whose faith was intertwined with control, performance, or fear—and who are ready to heal without abandoning their spiritual identity.
My Approach to Healing Spiritual Injury
Spiritual injury doesn’t come from belief itself—it comes from how authority, safety, and worth were enforced in the name of faith.
When spiritual environments were rigid, controlling, or fear-based, attachment patterns often formed around obedience, vigilance, and self-silencing. Over time, closeness with God could feel conditional. Questioning felt dangerous. Needing help felt like failure. These patterns don’t dissolve simply because someone leaves a church, tradition, or group. They continue internally.
This work focuses on repairing those attachment injuries.
In therapy, we pay attention to how fear, shame, loyalty, and self-monitoring still show up—especially in moments of vulnerability, doubt, or emotional need. Rather than correcting beliefs or guiding faith decisions, we work with how your body and internal world respond to authority, closeness, and care.
As that internal response shifts, many clients notice meaningful changes:
Less fear when questioning or struggling
Less pressure to perform spiritually or emotionally
More capacity to seek support without self-condemnation
A clearer distinction between conviction and control
For some, this creates space to reconnect with God in a way that feels steadier and more honest. For others, it allows faith to loosen its grip without collapsing identity. The outcome isn’t prescribed. The focus is internal safety, discernment, and self-trust.
This work does not require you to resolve your faith, return to a tradition, or adopt a new framework. It supports your ability to relate (to God, to authority, and to yourself) without fear driving the connection.
When You’re Ready
If faith has been intertwined with fear, control, or constant self-monitoring, it makes sense that closeness now feels complicated. This work offers a space to address that complexity without being asked to resolve your beliefs, defend your faith, or override your instincts.
In therapy, we focus on repairing the internal impact of rigid spiritual systems so that reliance on God no longer requires self-erasure, silence, or perfection. The work is paced by safety, not urgency, and guided by discernment rather than expectation.
You don’t need to be certain about what you believe to begin. You only need a place where questioning, healing, and support are not treated as spiritual failure.
Frequently Asked Questions About Faith-Integrated Therapy
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No. Many clients come from spiritual environments where emotional struggle was framed as spiritual failure. This work recognizes that faith can coexist with trauma, attachment injury, and nervous system overwhelm—and that seeking support is not a spiritual shortcut or deficit.
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No. This therapy does not require you to abandon, resolve, or redefine your faith. It focuses on repairing how safety, authority, and worth were experienced—especially if those were shaped through rigid or controlling spiritual systems.
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This work is often a good fit for people recovering from high-control or fear-based spiritual environments. Therapy focuses on restoring internal safety, self-trust, and autonomy without replacing one authority system with another.
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This is therapy. I don’t provide religious instruction, spiritual direction, or guidance on what to believe. The focus is on healing the emotional and relational impact of spiritual experiences, not shaping your theology.
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That conflict is common when attachment injuries formed in spiritual contexts. This work helps you understand and soften those patterns without pressuring closeness, performance, or resolution.