067: Church Betrayal: The Hidden Wounds Of Spiritual Abuse (with Lianna Chong)

In this episode of the Church Disrupted podcast, Jeff Cochran and organizational psychologist Lianna Chong to explore the complex issues surrounding spiritual abuse within church settings. They discuss the importance of psychological safety, the role of whistleblowers, and the resistance to change often encountered in church leadership. Lianna shares her personal journey and about her research project aimed at creating a validated assessment to help individuals and churches recognize spiritual abuse,. Take Lianna's Survey Here: www.salcsurvey.com Follow Liana Here: - Instagram: @Liannachong - Substack: goodshepherding.substack.com Get the Power Control Wheel: https://www.theduluthmodel.org/wheels/ Join Spiritual Abuse Awareness Weekend HERE: https://www.spiritualabuse.institute/about/saawarenessmonth Learn more about the Safe Church Pledge Here: https://www.spiritualabuse.institute/safechurchpledge Want to support SAI financially? https://donorbox.org/sai-initial-funding-campaign Find out more about the Spiritual Abuse Institute and the Church Disrupted Podcast at https://www.spiritualabuse.institute/. Join the church disrupted COMMUNITY here: https://discord.gg/nbWwg8Sz6Z Please Subscribe and Share! Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Spiritual Abuse and Organizational Psychology 03:01 Understanding Psychological Safety in Organizations 05:49 The Role of Whistleblowers in Church Dynamics 09:06 Resistance to Change in Church Leadership 11:53 The Importance of Listening in Leadership 15:11 Recognizing and Responding to Spiritual Abuse 18:07 Personal Journey into Addressing Spiritual Abuse 20:56 The Impact of Institutional Betrayal 23:59 Healing from Spiritual Abuse and Trauma 26:49 Existential Trauma and Its Effects 30:13 The Challenge of Recognizing Spiritual Abuse 39:24 Understanding Spiritual Abuse and Its Impact 47:57 Recognizing Signs of Spiritual Abuse 55:43 The Complexity of Holding Two Truths 01:01:05 Developing Tools to Identify Spiritual Abuse 01:10:10 Engaging the Community in Research