Uncovering Spiritual Manipulation and Trauma with Dr. Cassie Reid
Featured during the October 2021 Brave Strong Girl Mentoring Chat
All kinds of spiritual abuse create trauma.
Every relationship, especially those that involve positions of authority, has the potential to abuse or manipulate.
In this Brave Strong Girl Mentoring Chat, Dr. Cassie Reid shares how to uncover manipulation and poor leadership in others, and in our own hearts, to prevent ongoing trauma.
Abuse recovery is not a destination. It’s a journey of healing.
How to help people heal from spiritual abuse:
Identify the people who abused versus the general community. (One person/pastor/mentor does not mean an entire organization is corrupt or abusive.)
Lean into grief. (It’s a grieving process to leave a church, lose a relationship or to experience a wound.)
Deal with your own role in the experience. (What is it that allows you to be susceptible to spiritual abuse?)
Regroup and Rebuild. (Don’t sit dormant! You had a loss to grieve and a need to rebuild.)
Talk about it openly. (Find a safe person who is able to hear and understand; a therapist, a mentor or a friend.)
Practice autonomy from any system. (It’s okay to want to be a part of something bigger than yourself, but maintain a sense of your own destiny.)
Be brave and address behavior that feels wrong. (Ignoring bad behaviors can snowball into something that hurts you or others.)
Do not judge trauma. (A poor response to someone who confesses can be more damaging than the abuse itself.)
Deal with our own junk in the trunk! (What is your own trauma that might hinder you from seeing the signs of abuse?)
Dr. Cassie Reid
Dr. Cassie Reid is passionate about the synthesis of the clinical and spiritual in the field of therapy and beyond which includes her new organization, Church Rehab. It began as a vision in 2012 to provide a safe place for those in ministry, those hurt by ministry, and everyone in between.
Check it out, along with her blog site below:
“Our goal is the cure and prevention of spiritual abuse in the modern church.”