Let's Talk About Sects Coercive Control in Charismatic Evangelical Churches with the RTC
May 31, 2026
Elise Heerde, Melbourne mental health practitioner and RTC co‑founder focused on religious trauma recovery. Sam Sellers, queer trauma and cult‑recovery therapist and RTC co‑founder working with the queer community. They discuss coercive control in ordinary churches. They explore shame, spiritual authority, why harm is hard to name, recovery steps, and how religious power shows up in politics and Australian Christian nationalism.
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Elise's Grooming Into Ministry And Harm
- Elise Heerde recounted being groomed into leadership in a megachurch and then experiencing sexual assault when seeking help.
- When the church protected its reputation over her, she found a trauma-aware counsellor and later co-founded RTC to help others avoid harmful supports.
Focus On Behaviour Not Belief
- RTC frames the problem as behaviour not belief, recommending focus on coercive controlling actions rather than theology.
- Shifting to behaviour protects religious freedom while enabling interventions against harmful groups, per Sam's point about recent inquiries.
Spiritual Authority Masks Unchallengeable Power
- Elise explained how spiritual authority installs a God-ordained hierarchy where leaders speak for God and dissent equals questioning God.
- Prophetic claims and 'covering' doctrines remove verification and create unchallengeable power, producing gaslighting wrapped in spiritual language.
