Finding Our Minds
Finding Our Minds is a podcast about having mind, knowing mind, and changing mind hosted by Dr. Margaret Arnd-Caddigan (she/her) & Léa Fae Caddigan (they/he/she/fae/faer). Season 4 is all about healing from spiritual/religious trauma. By defining spiritual abuse, unpacking where it can take place (even outside of religious organizations), and discussing the steps towards healing from this trauma, Season 4's discussion centers the idea that a strong and autonomous sense of self can heal and re-build when it has been harmed.
Finding Our Minds
Spiritual Abuse and Childhood Trauma
Spiritual abuse that takes place during childhood is unique in the trauma developed by the abused. In this episode of Finding Our Minds. Dr. Margaret Arnd-Caddigan (she/her) and co-host Léa Fae (they/he/she/fae/faer) discuss how religious trauma differs from other types of childhood trauma, and how that can affect development.
Sources for this season can be found in two parts. Below, and in the Episode 1 description.
Sources (2/2)
McGraw, Danielle M., Marjan Ebadi, Constance Dalenber, Vanessa Wu, Braindi Naish, and Lisa Nunez. 2019. “Consequences of Abuse by Religious Authorities: A Review. Traumatology, 25. No. 4: 242-255.
Mulvihill, Natasha, Nadia Aghtaie, Andrea Matolsci and Marianne Hester. 2022. “UK Victim-Survivor Experiences of Intimate Partner Spiritual Abuse and Religious Coercive Control and Implications for Practice. DOI: 10.1177/17488958221112057.
Novsak, Rachel, tina Rahne Mandelj and Barbara Simonic. 2012. “Therapeutic Implications of Religious-Related Emotional Abuse. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 21. No 1:31-44.
Ward, David J. “The Lived Experience of Spiritual Abuse. 2011.” Mental Health, Religion, & Culture, 14. No. 9: 899-915.
Ross, Rick A. 2014. Cults Inside Out: How People Get In and Can Get Out. North Charleston, South Carolina: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Singer, Margaret T. 2003. Cults in Our Midst: The Continuing fight Against Their Hidden Menace. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Whitsett, Doni & Stephen A. Kent. 2003. “Cults and Families.” Families in Society, 84, no. 4: 491-501.
Finding Our Minds is an independently produced, non-monetized podcast. The best way you can support us is by sharing with a friend!
Dr. Margaret Arnd-Caddigan (she/her), LCSW is an Associate Professor of Social Work at East Carolina University. Her latest book, Holistic Psychotherapy from a Post-Materialist Perspective is available wherever books are sold.
Léa Fae Caddigan (they/he/she/fae/faer) is a writer/director based in New York City. You can follow them on Instagram and Tiktok.
Artwork by Ray Gonzalez and music by Anton Ashmere.