Episode 30 - Dr. Laura Anderson
Mending Families is hosted by Melissa Pemberton and she brings you weekly content that is a mix of trauma aware interviews, parenting tips for those caring for kids from adversity, and stories from people just like you as they share their beautiful messy moments. Melissa hopes that when you listen each week, you will feel encouraged, inspired and take a little something away to help you and your family move from broken to mended.
Dr. Laura Anderson (PhD, Saybrook University; LMFT) is a therapist, trauma resolution and recovery coach, writer, educator, and creator who specializes in complex trauma with a focus on domestic violence, sexualized violence and religious trauma. Laura has a private practice in Nashville, TN and is the founder and director of the Center for Trauma Resolution and Recovery, an online coaching company where she and the other practitioners work with clients who have experienced high demand/high control religions, adverse religious experiences, cults, and religious trauma.
On today’s episode, Laura helps us understand what religious trauma is, how to move forward when we’ve experienced harm from religious organizations, the difference between “church hurt” and “church harm” and what exactly are Adverse Religious Experiences. Our discussion leads us back to parenting often and for that reason, this episode truly is for anyone who finds themselves caring for vulnerable children. Enjoy!
If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Laura Anderson, you can check out her website https://drlauraeanderson.com/ and the Center for Trauma Resolution and Recovery for a variety of virtual healing options she is involved with. You can also pre-order her book at https://drlauraeanderson.com/book and also listen to her podcast that she co-hosts, Sunday School Dropouts, HERE. Finally, Laura is on Instagram and Facebook so you can follow her there!
Topics Laura mentions:
*Laura shares about what led to her writing her book and what we can expect from her book. You can find Laura’s book, When Religion Hurts You, HERE as it is released on October 17, 2023!
*Peter Levine, creator of Somatic Experiencing, and his book Healing Trauma are a great resource for healing from trauma
*Irene Lyon has a YouTube channel filled with FREE resources for healing
*Kimberly Ann Johnson’s book, Call of the Wild, is a book that can go deeper for anyone seeking to move into a healing space
**Any links that take you to Amazon are products that Mending Families does receive a small commission for if you purchase**
Where to find Mending Families:
Instagram - @mendingfamilieswa
TikTok - @mendingfamilieswa
Facebook - @mendingfamilieswa
YouTube - @mendingfamilies1594