The BLOG · writing on therapy & GROWTHReflections on therapy, relationships, and the slow work of recovery from abuse and harm.
Articles exploring schema therapy, mental health, trauma recovery, and emotional wellbeing — For people doing the slow work of understanding themselves, their relationships, and the harm they've lived through.
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Understanding the Effects of Adult Grooming and sexual exploitation in Spiritual Settings
This article by psychologist Kylie Walls explores the psychological effects of adult sexual grooming and exploitation in religious and spiritual settings, including clergy sexual abuse, spiritual abuse, and clergy sexual misconduct. Written by a psychologist specialising in religious trauma, it examines how grooming works in faith communities, why survivors often do not recognise it as abuse, and what the aftermath looks like, including PTSD, complex trauma, shame, loss of faith, and disrupted sense of self.
When Trust Becomes Vulnerability: Victims of spiritual coercion, exploitation, or grooming
Many people who have been groomed or manipulated in a religious setting ask the same question: was there something about me that made this happen? Written by a psychologist with a special interest in spiritual abuse and adult grooming, this piece explains what grooming and manipulation look like in religious contexts — and why vulnerability is never a personal failing.
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