**At the top of this episode we want to let you know that we’re going to be talking about subjects relating to spiritual and religious abuse, including trauma and the adjacent issues that might present within that context of experience. If these feel like tender topics for you, we want you to give you a heads up to take your time with this episode and even though we hope that our conversation will be an empowering one with plenty to learn from our guest and a hopefully a feeling of hope for anyone experiencing this in the past or present as we converse - please feel free to skip it if now isn’t the right time.**

With that being said - we want to introduce you to our special guest for today’s episode:

Dr. Laura Anderson is a therapist, trauma resolution and recovery coach, writer, educator, and creator who specializes in complex trauma with a focus on domestic violence, sexualized violence and religious trauma and is the founder and director of the Center for Trauma Resolution and Recovery, working with clients who have experienced high demand/high control religions, adverse religious experiences, cults, and religious trauma.

In this episode Laura shares from her own story of spiritual abuse and we talk about what religious and spiritual trauma and abuse can look like; how to identify red flags within religion and spiritual spaces and what the process of healing requires. We talk through the common after-effects of how high control environments impacts us in mind and body. This is a fascinating conversation, and we really hope you find it hopeful and supportive.

You can find Dr. Laura's work here.

And her new book, 'When Religion Hurts' is available for pre-order now here.