International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation Volume 8 2025 122
It seems, however, that many mental health therapists
are not knowledgeable about the psychological
issues related to spiritual abuse, religious trauma,
and cult dynamics and, therefore, are unsure how to
help survivors of such abuse. This lack of knowledge
and resultant treatment uncertainty may be partly
explained by what the authors of the 2024 scoping
review “Addressing Harm From Adverse Religious/
Spiritual Experiences in Psychotherapy” described as a
“dearth of research on psychotherapeutic intervention
for these concerns.”70
1
That review was “a synthesis of
the psychotherapy recommendations for addressing
harm from adverse religious/spiritual experiences that
have been published in the peer-reviewed and grey
literature.”71
While research is limited on effective therapeutic
interventions for survivors of religious/spiritual abuse,
the concepts of spiritual and religious trauma are not
new. In “The Spiritual Abuse and Harm Screener and
Its Revelations,”72 Araya Baker discussed two books
published in the 1990s on the subject: The Subtle
Power of Spiritual Abuse: Recognizing and Escaping
Spiritual Manipulation and False Spiritual Authority
Within the Church and Ronald Enroth’s Churches That
Abuse: Help for Those Hurt by Legalism, Authoritarian
Leadership, Manipulation, Excessive Discipline, and
Spiritual Intimidation. The authors of The Subtle Power
of Spiritual Abuse coined the term “spiritual abuse.” In
his book, Enroth examined five areas conducive to
religious abuse: “authority and power, manipulation
and control, elitism and persecution, lifestyle and
experience, [and] dissent and discipline.”73 These areas
of abuse are very familiar to former COG/The Family
members.
After discussing those books, Baker wrote:
70 Lauren M. Zaeske, et al, “Addressing harm from adverse religious/
spiritual experiences in psychotherapy: A scoping review,” Practice
Innovations, 9 no, 1 (2021), 2024. https://doi.org/10.1037/pri0000237
71 Lauren M. Zaeske, et al, “Addressing harm from adverse religious/
spiritual experiences in psychotherapy.”
72 Araya Baker, “The Spiritual Abuse and Harm Screener and Its
Revelations”, Beyond Cultural Competence (blog) Psychology Today, April
24, 2024, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beyond-cultural-
competence/202302/the-spiritual-abuse-and-harm-screener-and-its-
revelations.
73 Ronald Enroth, Churches That Abuse: Help for Those Hurt by
Legalism, Authoritarian Leadership, Manipulation, Excessive Discipline, and
Spiritual Intimidation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1992).
Religion and spirituality are actually distinct
concepts. Yet not much difference exists in
terms of how leaders of organized institutions
and groups use both to gain power and control
over others.
Thus, both spiritual abuse and religious abuse
overlap significantly with adverse religious
experiences, which the Global Center for
Religious Research defines as, ‘an event,
series of events, relationships, or circumstances
within or connected to religious beliefs,
practices, or structures that are experienced
by an individual as overwhelming or
disruptive. These experiences have the potential
of resulting in religious trauma.’74
1
Keep in mind that many of the former members of
COG/The Family and other high-demand religions had
experienced “overwhelming disruptive” experiences
for years, if not decades.
In Leaving the Fold (2006), Marlene Winell, a religious
abuse survivor and psychologist, introduced and
conceptualized the Religious Trauma Syndrome
(RTS). Winell’s theory of RTS built upon previous
work about the process of religious and/or spiritual
abuse and offered a framework for understanding
the long-lasting and multifaceted impacts on one’s
nervous system. RTS is not an official diagnosis in
the DSM-5-TR, but she described the concept as “the
condition experienced by people who are struggling
with leaving an authoritarian, dogmatic religion and
coping with the damage of indoctrination. It can be
compared to a combination of PTSD and Complex
PTSD (C-PTSD).”75 Several years later, Winell
published a trilogy of essays in Cognitive Behavioural
Therapy Today, urging the counselling and psychology
professions to respect RTS as a legitimate form of
trauma and abuse that is religious and/or spiritual as a
serious form of abuse.76
While it may be challenging to ensure that all therapists
receive the necessary training to address the unique
74 Baker, “The Special Abuse and Harm Screener and Its Revelations.”
75 Marlene Winell, Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former
Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion, (San Francisco:
Apocryphile Press, 2006).
76 Marlene Winell, “Religious Trauma Syndrome: It’s time to
recognise it.” CBT Today, 39, no. 3 (September 2011). https://www.
journeyfree.org/religious-trauma-syndrome-articles/
It seems, however, that many mental health therapists
are not knowledgeable about the psychological
issues related to spiritual abuse, religious trauma,
and cult dynamics and, therefore, are unsure how to
help survivors of such abuse. This lack of knowledge
and resultant treatment uncertainty may be partly
explained by what the authors of the 2024 scoping
review “Addressing Harm From Adverse Religious/
Spiritual Experiences in Psychotherapy” described as a
“dearth of research on psychotherapeutic intervention
for these concerns.”70
1
That review was “a synthesis of
the psychotherapy recommendations for addressing
harm from adverse religious/spiritual experiences that
have been published in the peer-reviewed and grey
literature.”71
While research is limited on effective therapeutic
interventions for survivors of religious/spiritual abuse,
the concepts of spiritual and religious trauma are not
new. In “The Spiritual Abuse and Harm Screener and
Its Revelations,”72 Araya Baker discussed two books
published in the 1990s on the subject: The Subtle
Power of Spiritual Abuse: Recognizing and Escaping
Spiritual Manipulation and False Spiritual Authority
Within the Church and Ronald Enroth’s Churches That
Abuse: Help for Those Hurt by Legalism, Authoritarian
Leadership, Manipulation, Excessive Discipline, and
Spiritual Intimidation. The authors of The Subtle Power
of Spiritual Abuse coined the term “spiritual abuse.” In
his book, Enroth examined five areas conducive to
religious abuse: “authority and power, manipulation
and control, elitism and persecution, lifestyle and
experience, [and] dissent and discipline.”73 These areas
of abuse are very familiar to former COG/The Family
members.
After discussing those books, Baker wrote:
70 Lauren M. Zaeske, et al, “Addressing harm from adverse religious/
spiritual experiences in psychotherapy: A scoping review,” Practice
Innovations, 9 no, 1 (2021), 2024. https://doi.org/10.1037/pri0000237
71 Lauren M. Zaeske, et al, “Addressing harm from adverse religious/
spiritual experiences in psychotherapy.”
72 Araya Baker, “The Spiritual Abuse and Harm Screener and Its
Revelations”, Beyond Cultural Competence (blog) Psychology Today, April
24, 2024, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beyond-cultural-
competence/202302/the-spiritual-abuse-and-harm-screener-and-its-
revelations.
73 Ronald Enroth, Churches That Abuse: Help for Those Hurt by
Legalism, Authoritarian Leadership, Manipulation, Excessive Discipline, and
Spiritual Intimidation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1992).
Religion and spirituality are actually distinct
concepts. Yet not much difference exists in
terms of how leaders of organized institutions
and groups use both to gain power and control
over others.
Thus, both spiritual abuse and religious abuse
overlap significantly with adverse religious
experiences, which the Global Center for
Religious Research defines as, ‘an event,
series of events, relationships, or circumstances
within or connected to religious beliefs,
practices, or structures that are experienced
by an individual as overwhelming or
disruptive. These experiences have the potential
of resulting in religious trauma.’74
1
Keep in mind that many of the former members of
COG/The Family and other high-demand religions had
experienced “overwhelming disruptive” experiences
for years, if not decades.
In Leaving the Fold (2006), Marlene Winell, a religious
abuse survivor and psychologist, introduced and
conceptualized the Religious Trauma Syndrome
(RTS). Winell’s theory of RTS built upon previous
work about the process of religious and/or spiritual
abuse and offered a framework for understanding
the long-lasting and multifaceted impacts on one’s
nervous system. RTS is not an official diagnosis in
the DSM-5-TR, but she described the concept as “the
condition experienced by people who are struggling
with leaving an authoritarian, dogmatic religion and
coping with the damage of indoctrination. It can be
compared to a combination of PTSD and Complex
PTSD (C-PTSD).”75 Several years later, Winell
published a trilogy of essays in Cognitive Behavioural
Therapy Today, urging the counselling and psychology
professions to respect RTS as a legitimate form of
trauma and abuse that is religious and/or spiritual as a
serious form of abuse.76
While it may be challenging to ensure that all therapists
receive the necessary training to address the unique
74 Baker, “The Special Abuse and Harm Screener and Its Revelations.”
75 Marlene Winell, Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former
Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion, (San Francisco:
Apocryphile Press, 2006).
76 Marlene Winell, “Religious Trauma Syndrome: It’s time to
recognise it.” CBT Today, 39, no. 3 (September 2011). https://www.
journeyfree.org/religious-trauma-syndrome-articles/
