Spiritual Abuse & Healing Online Course

This six-lesson course, complete with reflective practices and deep dive panel discussions, helps you engage your body, mind, and spirit as you unpack the harm caused by spiritual abuse.

Whether you’re just beginning to wake up to this reality or have been on a healing journey for years, this course provides a safe and welcoming space to deepen your understanding and work towards healing.

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Payment plans are available at checkout.

"Healing is not only possible, but available, though perhaps not always in the linear, concrete ways we want. The God of love, justice, and mercy is not bound by wicked systems or bad shepherds.” — Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv

Course Includes

6 In-Depth Lessons designed to guide you through the complexities of spiritual abuse, healing, and reclamation.
9 Deep Dives & 2 Round Tables on topics like trauma, attachment, agency, purity culture, narcissism, and high-control environments.
Practical Exercises & Guided Practices designed to care for your body, mind, and spirit.
Guided Participant Workbook to help you process and reflect on your learning.
Additional Healing Resources including a curated list of helpful books, podcasts, therapeutic modalities, care providers, and more.

We’ve got to do the work of reclaiming our capacity to trust and our desire to belong, reclaiming our personhood, reclaiming our access to power without fear that we’ll only bring harm, and reclaiming our attachment to God as a sustaining source for love, liberation, healing and repair. — Rachael Clinton Chen

Who is this for?

Survivors of spiritual abuse seeking education and tools to reclaim their personhood and spirituality.
Pastors and church leaders wanting to understand both their own and others’ experiences.
Counselors and practitioners looking to provide deeper support for clients.

Regardless of where you stand in your relationship with God—whether you’re sure of God’s love, barely holding onto your faith, or ready to leave it all behind—you are welcome here.

Ways to Enroll

Go at your own pace

Our online course platform allows you to enroll at any time and move through the course at your own pace.

Your enrollment fee grants you lifetime access to the content, allowing you to revisit the material.

Enroll today for $349

Sign up as a group

Groups offer great companionship, support and learning. Whether you are looking to offer a healing-focused group or training for your team, this course is a significant resource. You will enjoy a 10% discount for those gathering with 5 people or more.

Learn more about enrolling as a group

Enroll by January 16, 2025, to unlock these free bonuses:

Live Q&A with Rachael Clinton Chen | Join us on January 16th for a live Zoom session with Rachael Clinton Chen. Dive deeper into the course content and get your questions answered in real time!

Earn 9 complimentary CEU Seat Hours | As part of your enrollment, you’ll have the option to add 9 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) seat hours to your course—free of charge! (A $75 value.) These CEUs will be available in early 2025, and you’ll need to pass an assessment to earn them. Please note: CEUs are subject to approval by your licensing board. We recommend confirming acceptance in your region. If you have questions, feel free to contact us at support@theallendercenter.org.

Enroll today for $349

If you’d like to talk more about our enrollment options and the best path for you, share your question or request a phone call by emailing support@theallendercenter.org.

“This course provides a framework and so tenderly gets to the heart of the subtlety of spiritual abuse. I was deeply moved to reconsider times in my own life where my body knew something was ‘off’ long before I had language. Now I have language! Thank you for this offering.” -Natalie S.

Meet Your Online Course Guides

Leading the way is Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv, an experienced trauma care practitioner, Allender Center Lead Instructor, and pastoral leader. You’ll also hear from Dr. Dan Allender, Dr. Lauren D. Sawyer, Matthias Roberts, MA, LMHC, Vanessa Sadler, Rebekah Vickery, MA, LMHC, and Jill Dyer. Each of these Narrative Focused Trauma Care practitioners and educators offers unique insights on trauma, faith, and healing, bringing rich perspectives and support to your experience.

“I felt generously supported as I engaged this program and the heaviness of the content. The multiple voices offering their unique perspectives and the brilliant layout of the course offered me containment, clarity, orientation, and courage to click on the next section with permission to take breaks and tend to my activated body. I also ended this course feeling abundantly equipped with so many new resources as I continue to tend to my own story and the stories of others who have experienced spiritual abuse.” -Steven B.

What You Will Learn

A clear understanding of the nature of spiritual abuse: its characteristics, tools, and types.
Insight into how our cultural context and family of origin can set us up for spiritual abuse.
Greater awareness of the impact of spiritual abuse on your body, mind, spirit, and relationships.
Tools for healing through reclaiming your personhood and re-establishing secure attachments—both interpersonally and spiritually.
A hopeful vision of how to move forward—personally and collectively.

This six-lesson course, complete with reflective practices and deep dive panel discussions, helps you engage your body, mind, and spirit as you unpack the harm caused by spiritual abuse. You’ll be supported by compassionate voices and survivor stories, offering wisdom, guidance, and practical exercises to help you find healing.

“This course has been constructed with the utmost care and insight, helping to name and grapple with the specific form and shape abuse takes in a spiritual or religious context. Learning that spiritual abuse actually creates attachment wounds was profoundly revelatory for me in my own life, and helped me better understand how to approach healing in myself and others.” – Katie C.