Why We Created Religious Trauma & Cults (RTC)
Co-founding and directing Religious Trauma & Cults (formerly the Religious Trauma Collective) with Elise Heerde was never just a “business idea.” It was born from lived experience. I know firsthand how isolating it can feel to leave a faith system, high-control religious group, or cultic environment and realise that the world outside doesn’t always understand what you’ve been through.
When I was navigating my own journey out of a high-demand faith space, I wanted two things more than anything: to feel understood and to find support from people who got it. Not just theoretically, but from those who’d lived through the disorientation, the grief, the identity crisis, and sometimes the complete dismantling of family, community, and belonging.
I kept seeing how hard it was, especially here in Australia to find practitioners who understood religious trauma and cult recovery in a way that went beyond a textbook definition. So Elise and I created RTC as a place to make that search easier, and to build something where survivors and practitioners alike could find connection, understanding, and genuine support.
What Religious Trauma & Cults Does
RTC is a dedicated space for people who’ve experienced the impacts of religious harm, faith deconstruction, spiritual abuse, cult involvement, high-control group dynamics, or the loss of a once tightly-held worldview.
At its heart, RTC is:
- A practitioner directory: therapists, psychologists, social workers, coaches, and other helping professionals with both personal and professional experience in religious trauma and cult recovery.
- A survivor support space: offering facilitated peer support groups for those navigating the impacts of religious trauma, spiritual abuse, and high-control group experiences.
- A community hub: offering online events for connection, learning, and storytelling.
- A resource library: with information, articles, books, and links that speak to the unique recovery journey of religious trauma and cult recovery.
- A training and development space: for practitioners wanting to deepen their understanding and skills, including cult recovery training, Lunch and Learn sessions, and specialist group supervision.
- A consultation and speaking resource: with Sam and Elise available for professional consultations, media engagement, and speaking engagements across a range of formats and contexts.
It’s a place to find understanding, tools, and support – whether you’re in the middle of leaving, years into your recovery, or a practitioner looking to better walk alongside someone on this path.
Learn More & Get Involved
If you want to explore RTC; whether to find a practitioner, join a support group, access resources, attend an event, or connect with others who get it - head to the RTC website.
Visit Religious Trauma & Cults
We created RTC so that nobody has to navigate this alone. There's a place for you here.