

072: Reclaiming Faith, Hope, and Love After Spiritual Abuse with Rachael Clinton Chen
Is healing from spiritual abuse actually possible?
The worst part of spiritual abuse is that it attempts to destroy your personhood, sense of safety with others, and imagination of a good God. It can feel like you are broken beyond repair. However, in this episode, Rachael Clinton Chen shares that healing is not only possible, but your faith, hope, and love can stay intact in spite of immense spiritual harm. She talks to us about the goodness that is available to us through experiences of healthy human attachment, spiritual formation, embodiment, and revisiting our stories in the presence of an empathetic witness.
Get the full show notes and links here. 📄
Guest Spotlight ✨
Rachael is a trauma care practitioner, speaker, and pastoral leader. She serves as a lead instructor for the Allender Center at The Seattle School and is co-host of the Allender Center Podcast with Dr. Dan Allender. She holds a Master of Divinity from The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology and recently had the honor of being named by Sojourners as one of “9 Christian Women Shaping the Church in 2024.”
Rachael is devoted to addressing the harm of abuse – especially spiritual abuse – at the intersection of trauma, healing, embodiment and spiritual formation. She leads the Story Workshop for Spiritual Abuse & Healing and recently developed the Allender Center’s Spiritual Abuse & Healing Online Course, inviting survivors of spiritual abuse to journey together towards healing and reclamation.
Website | Instagram | The Allender Center Podcast
Join us in Richmond, VA, for the 2025 Gathering on October 10-11.
Come and discover a safe and compassionate community of fellow survivors and advocates. If you’re looking for practical tools to help process the pain and trauma of spiritual abuse, this is the event for you.
Join us in person or via live stream.
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