163: Healing Spiritual Wounds – Understanding Abuse in Faith Spaces with Rachael Clinton Chen

The Best of You

Dr. Alison Cook

Mental Health, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 958 Ratings

🗓️ 19 June 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What do you do when the very place that was supposed to nourish your soul becomes a source of deep harm? In this deeply moving and necessary conversation, therapist, pastor, and trauma specialist Rachael Clinton Chen joins Dr. Alison Cook to talk about the pain of spiritual abuse—and what it looks like to begin healing from it. Whether you’ve experienced overt harm in a religious setting or carry subtle wounds from spiritual messaging that shaped your identity in unhealthy ways, this episode offers a gentle, powerful invitation toward healing, dignity, and reclaiming your voice. Rachael shares: Her own story of healing from spiritual abuseWhy spiritual pain is often so hard to name How systems of control in churches and families silence women and survivors The importance of embodiment and “coming home to yourself” in healing A theological lens for honoring your anger, grief, and truth If you've ever questioned your worth because of how faith was used against you—or wondered how to hold onto your spirituality while confronting the harm—you’re not alone. This episode is full of insight, validation, and hope for your journey. 📋Spiritual abuse can be hard to recognize, because it’s often the water we’re swimming in. That’s why The Allender Center put together a self-guided checklist designed to help identify signs of spiritual abuse in your own life or the lives of others. You can download it here. 🖥Take a healing step and start The Spiritual Abuse & Healing Online Course and use code COOK20 for 20% at checkout. If this episode speaks to you, you’ll also love: ⁠Episode 67⁠ — The Inextricable Link Between Faith & Emotional Healing—Gen Z & A Hidden Search for Meaning with Cindy Gao Episode 153 — Embodied Healing, Spiritual Trauma, and the Journey Home to Your Body with Dr. Hillary McBride ⁠Episode 17⁠ — What Is Church Hurt and How Do I Heal? 📖 Find a full transcript and list of resources from this episode here 💬 Got a question? Call 307-429-2525 and leave a message for a future episode. Thanks to our Sponsors! Go to ⁠Quince.com/bestofyou⁠ for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Visit⁠ GoGeviti.com⁠ to learn more about how you can start optimizing your health without leaving home today and use code BESTOFYOU. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BESTOFYOU and get on your way to being your best self. Better sleep starts today! Get a birch mattress and test it out for 100 nights risk-free PLUS a discount for being a listener by visiting birchliving.com/BESTOFYOU. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. There's still so much stigma around men's mental health,
0:05.5	and it's time we start talking about it. Men today are under intense pressure to perform,
0:10.2	to provide, and to keep it all together. It's no wonder over six million men in the U.S. suffer
0:15.2	from depression each year, often without ever getting the support they need. But here's the truth
0:20.1	for all of us. It's okay to
0:22.3	struggle. And real strength doesn't come from pushing through alone. It comes from opening up and
0:27.6	getting help when you need it. Whether it's with a friend, a loved one, or a therapist, talking
0:32.6	it out can make all the difference. Therapy isn't just for crises. It's for learning how to set boundaries,
0:39.0	develop healthier coping strategies, and becoming more of who you're meant to be. And BetterHelp
0:43.8	makes that easier. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide
0:49.0	access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Talk it out with BetterHelp. Our listeners get 10%
0:56.5	off their first month at BetterHelp.com slash Best of You. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com
1:03.1	slash Best of You.
1:09.4	Hey, everyone. I'm Dr. Allison, and I'm so glad you're here to discover what brings out the best of you.
1:16.2	This podcast is all about breaking free from painful patterns, mending the past and discovering our true selves in God.
1:23.9	I can't wait to get started as we learn together how to become the best version of who we are
1:29.5	with God's help. Hey, everyone, and welcome back to the best of you. I'm your host, Dr. Allison,
1:38.6	and I'm so honored to bring you today's episode with the incredible Rachel Clinton Chen. Rachel is a trauma practitioner,
1:47.2	a pastor, a teacher, and a spiritual abuse expert at the Allender Center, which is housed
1:52.4	within the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. She holds a Master of Divinity from the Seattle
1:58.0	School, and she spent years working at the intersection of trauma,
2:02.4	faith, and healing. Rachel has just a rare gift. It was so fun to talk with her throughout
	...

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