Posttraumatic Spiritual Growth
Find Yourself in This Work
Maybe you’ve lived a version of this story yourself, or love someone who has. Maybe you’re a therapist, a clergy person, a researcher, or simply someone trying to understand what healing from religious harm can actually look like. Wherever you’re standing, there’s a place for you here. This work was built from the voices of people who found their way through — and it’s offered now as a companion for anyone still finding theirs.
About the Research
This dissertation explores what happens after religious or spiritual trauma not just the wounding, but what grows in its place. Drawing on in-depth interviews and survey responses from LGBTQ+ individuals and allies across the Midwest, the research traces a common path: from harmful messaging, exclusion, and control, through moments of realization and connection, toward lasting growth in self-acceptance, community, and purpose. It’s grounded research, built from real stories, offered here not as a locked academic artifact but as something meant to be read, used, and shared.
