In this soul-shaking episode, we sit down with therapist, trauma practitioner, and spiritual leader Rachel Clinton Chen to explore the sacred, painful, and courageous work of healing. Rachel guides us into the realities of trauma, powerlessness, spiritual abuse, and what it takes to become whole. We talk about the cost of integrity, the betrayal of our bodies, and the profound invitation to let lament and grief become doorways to hope. With honesty, wisdom, and fierce gentleness, Rachel names what so many are afraid to say aloud—and calls us to be people of truth and love in the face of harm.

Takeaways

• Trauma is not just what happens to you—it’s what you carry when you’re alone in it.

• Integrity has a cost, especially in spiritually abusive systems.

• Grief is not the end of the story—it’s the beginning of embodied hope.

• Healing often begins with naming what is true, even when it’s disruptive.

• Your body keeps the score, but it can also be the site of redemption.

• We need language, witness, and safety to metabolize harm.

Chapters

(00:00) Meet Rachel Clinton Chen

(04:00) Powerlessness and the Language of Trauma

(07:30) What Spiritual Abuse Steals from the Soul

(12:00) The Cost of Integrity in Religious Systems

(15:30) The Body Knows What the Mind Tries to Hide

(19:00) Naming the Truth and Being Witnessed

(22:30) What Is Lament and Why Does It Matter?

(26:00) Becoming People Who Can Grieve and Hold Hope

(29:00) From Dissociation to Embodiment

(34:00) Holding Complexity in a Black-and-White World

(38:00) Rachel’s Own Healing and Leadership Journey

(41:00) Why She Still Believes in the Church

(46:00) A Word for the Tender and Tired Listener

(49:00) Where to Find Rachel and Her Work

Keywords

Rachel Clinton Chen, Three Percent, trauma healing, spiritual abuse, integrity, grief, lament, The Allender Center, Dan Allender, embodiment, Christian trauma, spiritual formation, emotional health, mental health, religious harm, narrative healing, counseling, black-and-white thinking, abuse recovery, faith and pain, hope, integrity, safety, truth-telling, nervous system, therapeutic practices, power and vulnerability, shame and resilience, holistic masculinity, tenderness, church healing