Beyond The Surface

This is James's Story...

More About James

James Admans (they/them) is a minister, entrepreneur, and drag queen (Marge Erin Johnson, she/her). They are ordained pending call in the United Church of Christ.

They graduated from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (unceded homelands of the Lenape Nation) with a Master of Divinity degree in interdisciplinary Biblical studies, social ethics, and queer theology. During their last year in seminary, they were honoured to receive the prestigious Malcolm Boyd Veritas Award for advocacy and social justice work on behalf of the queer and trans community.

They are also the editor of the recently published Beyond Worship: Meditations on Queer Worship, Liturgy, & Theology, a queer worship anthology featuring thirty-three contributions by LGBTQIA2S+ theologians. The book was awarded a 2023 Independent Publishers Bronze Medal in the category of religion.

Their drag alter-ego, Marge Erin Johnson, leads a vibrant drag ministry, preaching, and leading worship.

Connect With Us

• You can find more about James on their website - https://www.theologyqueen.com/
• You can also connect on social media over on Instagram or YouTube

• To connect with Sam on Instagram - @anchoredcounsellingservices
• Want to contact with Sam about the podcast or therapy? Use this contact form.

This is Tashas Story..

More About Tasha

Tasha is a Queer Neurodivergent Counsellor, Advocate, wife, and chronic pain battler. Many of her clients are neurodivergent, mainly autism and/or ADHD and are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Tasha uses her lived experience to work with these individuals to connect on a deeper level as someone who understands many of the struggles and triumphs faced.

Connect With Us

• You can connect with Tasha on Facebook or Instagram
• To listen to the other episode I did with Tasha – Beyond The Binary

• To connect with Sam on Instagram - @anchoredcounsellingservices
• Want to contact with Sam about the podcast or therapy? Use this contact form.

In this episode, we break down cognitive dissonance and its impact on Queer individuals, especially within high-control religious environments. We explore the harmful effects of heteronormative conditioning, the enmeshment of religion and politics, and the importance of inclusive faith communities. Kit offers insights on navigating and healing from these experiences.

More About Kit

Kit Morgan (they/them), the author of The Liberated Porch on Substack, writes from their professional experience as a licensed social worker and therapist and personal experience as a trans and queer ex-fundamentalist. Kit seeks to empower folx through their writing so that people can learn how to identify and navigate direct and indirect queer trauma and religious trauma.

Connect With Us

• The Liberated Porch on Substack - https://theliberatedporch.substack.com/
• To connect with Kit over on Instagram - @theliberatedporch

• To connect with Sam on Instagram - @anchoredcounsellingservices
• Want to contact with Sam about the podcast or therapy? Use this contact form.

This is Steph's Story...

More About Steph

Steph Lentz is a former advertising writer and secondary school teacher. She came to public attention in 2021 after she was sacked from her job as a teacher because of her sexuality. Steph is based in Sydney. She released her debut memoir titled ‘In/Out: A scandalous story of falling into love and out of the church’ in 2023.

Connect With Us

• To purchase Steph’s book on Amazon, or Booktopia
• You can connect with Steph over on Instagram

• To connect with Sam on Instagram - @anchoredcounsellingservices
• Want to contact with Sam about the podcast or therapy? Use this contact form.

This Is Mike's Story...

More About Mike

Mike Maeshiro is the founder of Numa, an organisation that supports people recovering from religious toxicity. Mike is gay, an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, and a queer theology enthusiast. Mike is a former instructor at Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, best known for his class, “Discerning of Spirits.” He now teaches on emotional health and redemptive deconstruction. He is a consultant and coach for gay men recovering from evangelicalism. He also has a team of coaches who work with people whose faith is evolving. He is a social media influencer and thought leader. Mike loves Japanese food, movies, and playing volleyball, and has a depth of useless knowledge about the X-men.

Connect With Us

• Mike’s Website – https://www.mikemaeshiro.com/
• Connect with Mike on social media – Facebook, Instagram or over on YouTube.

• Sam’s website – www.anchoredcounsellingservices.com.au
• To connect with Sam on Instagram - @anchoredcounsellingservices
• Want to contact with Sam about the podcast or therapy? Use this contact form.

This is Alanah's Story

Who is Alanah?

Alanah is a musician in Nashville, TN, USA. A songwriter and composer/producer, and right now is working on a therapeutic kind of project where she takes old Christian hymns and rewrites the lyrics to be affirming, open-minded, and focused on wholeness. She is working to create a safe place for people like herself who find themselves deconstructing after leaving a high-control religious environment, especially those who used to love the music part of church. She is passionate about working to dismantle the thick layers of shame that we put on ourselves to fit into a high control environment - especially those who are queer.

Connect with us.

• To connect with Alanah on Instagram, YouTube or her website.

• To connect with Sam on Instagram - @anchoredcounsellingservices
• Want to contact with Sam about the podcast or therapy? Use this contact form.

This is Nikki's Story...

Who Is Nikki?

Nikki G. is a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach who helps survivors recover and thrive after Religious Trauma & Cult involvement. She is also a survivor of multiple narcissistic relationships, religious trauma as well as a former member of multiple cultic communities.

Nikki is the CEO of Nikki G Speaks LLC, which exists to support survivors with individual coaching services, an online community, and other various forms of psycho-education related to religious trauma, narcissistic abuse, and cult involvement. She educates and empowers survivors to reclaim their lives and embrace the journey to “come back home” to self.

Connect with us.

• Nikki’s website – https://www.nikkigspeaks.com/
• You can connect with Nikki over on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

• To connect with Sam on Instagram - @anchoredcounsellingservices
• Want to contact with Sam about the podcast or therapy? Use this contact form.

This is Sam's Story...

Who is Sam?

Sam is a self-confessed introvert and empath, who loves nothing more than good ache-in-the-belly laugh. But more than anything, she loves providing a safe counselling space for gentle souls- introverts, INFJ’s, empaths and neurodivergent people. This is her joy and passion, bringing hope and healing to the broken hearted. Sam first started Paper Crane of Hope as a community development project… Leaving paper cranes in her community to spread this message of hope and healing. It quickly evolved into what it is today- an online therapy space.

Connect with us!

• To find more out about Sam’s work - https://www.papercraneofhope.com/
• To connect to Sam on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/papercraneofhope/

• To connect with Host Sam on Instagram - @anchoredcounsellingservices
• Want to contact with Sam about the podcast or therapy? Use this contact form.

This Is Cait's Story....

Who is Cait?

Cait West is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawai`i Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a non-profit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and co-hosts the podcast Survivors Discuss.

Her debut, Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy, was published on April 30, 2024.

Connect With Us!

• Cait’s Website - https://www.caitwest.com/
• To connect with Cait on Facebook and Instagram
• To purchase ‘Rift’ - Booktopia and Amazon

• To connect with Sam on Instagram - @anchoredcounsellingservices
• Want to contact with Sam about the podcast or therapy? Use this contact form.

This is Janes story.

Who is Jane?

Jane Kennedy is a Sydney-based Counsellor. Jane has lived experience of religious trauma and is committed to supporting people as they leave church and/or faith. This experience, still frequently misunderstood, can be life-altering. She brings language and framing for the complexities of religious trauma to the counselling space and works with other Australian therapists to broaden knowledge among those working with affected clients. Jane has written her story, an e-book, The Sentimental Non-Believer, on Loving & Leaving God.

Links

• To find out more about Jane and her practice head to her website - https://janekennedycounselling.com.au/
• Or to connect with her on social media; you can find her on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn

• To connect with Sam on Instagram - @anchoredcounsellingservices
• Want to contact with Sam about the podcast or therapy? Use this contact form.