Episode Summary
Louise joins me for a raw and honest conversation about leaving an abusive marriage, faith, and coming back to self-trust. Louise shares how love, control, and religious beliefs became tangled together. Often making it hard to recognise abuse while she was inside it. We talk about how faith and religious language often justify manipulation, silence doubt, and keep people stuck in harmful relationships. As well as the deep confusion that comes from trying to reconcile pain with beliefs about love, forgiveness, and endurance. Louise reflects on the barriers she faced when seeking help, the role of community and what it’s taken to reclaim her sense of agency. This episode offers validation for anyone who has been in an abusive relationship and names the courage it takes to leave, and begin again.
Who Is Louise
Louise grew up on, and lives on, Wurundjeri Country in Naarm/Melbourne Australia. Her story is about the domestic abuse she experienced in a ‘Christian marriage’. As well as the influence of Christianity and the churches she was a part of, including a cult, in enabling the abuse.
Connect
- You can find out more about Sam on her website – www.anchoredcounsellingservices.com.au
- To connect with Sam on Instagram – @anchoredcounsellingservices
- Want to contact with Sam about the podcast or therapy? Use this contact form.
- Also check out The Religious Trauma Collective