Content Note: This episode includes discussion of religious trauma, LGBTQIA+ religious harm, purity culture, and the psychological impact of high-control religious environments.
This week on The Awakening, Tamara and I sit down with Ann Russo, LCSW — licensed therapist, theologian, founder of AMR Therapy, and creator of the Religious Trauma Treatment Model — for a conversation that is equal parts personal, clinical, and deeply necessary.
Ann's story is one we haven't heard before on this show. She didn't grow up inside the church — she grew up in a non-believing, queer household and found her way into Christian faith on her own terms. But when she discovered her own queerness, the faith she had chosen rejected her. Rather than simply walk away, Ann did something remarkable — she leaned in harder. She went to seminary. She studied theology. She wanted to understand exactly what this system was, how it worked, and what it did to people.
What came out of that journey wasn't a return to faith — it was a framework. Ann developed the Religious Trauma Treatment Model, a groundbreaking clinical framework that equips mental health professionals with tools to help clients heal from the psychological and spiritual wounds of high-control religious systems, reclaiming autonomy, self-worth, and meaning. (AATBS)
Her forthcoming book on religious trauma recovery will be published by PESI in 2027 — and in this conversation she gives us a glimpse of what's inside it and what she hopes it will do for survivors and the clinicians who serve them. (AMR Therapy)
This is a conversation about what it means to turn your own wounds into a roadmap for healing — and to build the infrastructure so no one else has to figure it out alone.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
• Growing up in a non-believing, queer household and choosing faith
• Discovering her queerness — and having faith reject her
• Going to seminary to understand the system from the inside
• How that journey led to creating the Religious Trauma Treatment Model
• What religious trauma actually is — and why it is valid
• AMR Therapy and the work of affirming, trauma-informed care
• Her forthcoming book and what she hopes it will accomplish
• Resources available right now for religious trauma survivors
Connect with Ann Russo:
🌐 Website: https://www.annrusso.org
🏥 AMR Therapy: https://www.amrtherapy.com
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@annrussolcsw
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annrussolcswtheo
📖 Forthcoming book on Religious Trauma Recovery — publishing 2027 via PESI
Resources for Survivors:
If you are navigating religious trauma and looking for support, Ann's work is a great place to start:
🌐 https://www.annrusso.org
🧠 Secular Therapy Project: https://www.seculartherapy.org
📞 Recovering from Religion Helpline: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/hotline
Connect with Your Hosts:
Heather: https://linktr.ee/Happyheathersmiles
Tamara: TikTok @feralatheistjezebel321 | Instagram @tamarajo321
🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAwakeningPodcast-w6s
📩 Be a guest: [email protected]
If you have ever been told that what the church did to you wasn't that bad — this episode is your permission slip to disagree. Religious trauma is real. It lives in your body, your relationships, and the way you move through the world. And there are people who have built their entire life's work around helping you heal from it. You deserve that help. You belong here.
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