There’s Nothing Wrong With You: Healing Religious Trauma and the Shame It Leaves Behind

There’s a kind of shame that runs deep. The kind that doesn’t just say “I made a mistake”—but “I am the mistake.”

For many people who’ve experienced religious trauma, that belief gets planted early and reinforced often. Sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly. But it settles in over time, and before long, it can start to feel like truth.

• You might have been told that:
• Your feelings were wrong or sinful.
• Your questions made you dangerous.
• Your identity, your body, or your desires were evil or perverted.
• Your suffering was your fault—or that it was redemptive.

These messages don’t just create discomfort. They shape how we see ourselves. And when you’ve been taught that you are the problem, healing becomes complicated. Even reaching out for support can feel confusing or wrong. It can stir up more shame—more fear that maybe you're too much.

But healing often begins with this simple act:

Telling the truth about what hurt.

A Different Truth

And here’s what I want to say, as clearly as I can:

There is nothing wrong with you.

The shame you feel? The weight you carry? That’s not a flaw—it’s a wound.

Your coping strategies, your resistance to trust, your trouble making decisions, your hyper-vigilance—these aren’t signs of brokenness. They are signs that your nervous system, your body, and your soul have been doing their best to keep you safe in a world that once didn’t feel safe.

You’re not broken. You’re responding to something that hurt.

If no one’s ever said this to you—or if you've been taught the opposite—it makes sense that this might feel unfamiliar. Even threatening. That’s okay. You get to move at your own pace.

Healing Together

This is why I’m creating a therapy group for people recovering from religious or spiritual harm and trauma.

Because healing doesn’t happen in isolation.

Shame thrives in silence—but it loses its grip when we speak it in the presence of others who understand. Who aren’t trying to change or fix or convert us.

This group will be a space where:

• You don’t have to explain the whole backstory.
• You don’t have to filter your grief, your anger, or your doubt.
• You’re allowed to be exactly where you are—without judgment, without pressure, and without the message that you’re too much.

Learn More

If any of this resonates with you, you’re invited to reach out.

You can click here to learn more about the group or contact me with questions.

And if you know someone who might need this, feel free to pass it along.

You are not alone.

And you are not the problem.

About the Author

Katie Webb is a psychotherapist at Louis Laves-Webb, LCSW, LPC-S & Associates in Austin, TX. She specializes in relational, psychodynamic, and existential approaches to therapy with a focus on grief, religious trauma, and meaning-making.