About Karen Chambless
You've spent a long time making sure you believed the right things, said the right things, were the right kind of person.
But somewhere in there, you lost track of what you actually think. What you actually want. Whether any of it was ever really yours.
Therapy with me is a place to figure that out — without anyone telling you what the answer should be.
I grew up in church. I have real memories I still carry warmly: friendships, belonging, feeling part of something larger than myself. And I also spent years slowly realizing that some of what I'd been taught wasn't true, wasn't mine, and had cost me more than I knew at the time.
That process was disorienting and lonely. It's part of why I do this work.
As a Queer woman, I know what it’s like when your identity and your faith are pulling in opposite directions — and what it costs to finally stop pretending they aren't.
A lot of people come in expecting therapy to feel like homework — like there's a right way to do it and they'll probably mess it up. It doesn't feel like that here.
Mostly we talk. You don't have to have everything figured out before we start.
You just have to be willing to be honest — and I'll meet you there.
Learn more about Therapy for Religious Trauma
Learn more about Therapy for Deconstruction
Learn more about me, if you’ve scrolled this far:
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I’m a Scorpio Sun and stellium with Aquarius Moon and Rising
I’m an Enneagram 2-4-8 tritype with a strong 3 wing.
My favorite book of 2025 was The Antidote by Karen Russell
My favorite video game is Stardew Valley
My comfort TV shows include Letterkenny, Bob’s Burgers, and British murder mysteries.
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Some of my favorite things about Chattanooga are: always being able to see mountains, the scenic train rides on the Tennessee Valley Railroad, the jellyfish and large-tank rooms at the aquarium, our historic buildings downtown and how the city is colorful in different ways all through the year.
I love how many truly good and caring people live in Tennessee, despite being a state where oppressive legislation feels suffocating and most folks have to struggle to get by.
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Because I know my neurodivergence and Queerness are inextricably tied to who I am and how I experience the world, I practice “identity-first” therapy.
You won’t just be treated as Jane Smith who has xyz symptoms of anxiety and grew up Southern Baptist.
We’ll always consider how your gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, neurotype, socioeconomic class, family history, religious traditions, body size, and other aspects of your identity are coming into play with what’s going on.
We’ll always name how capitalism, consumerism, white supremacy, patriarchy, fascism, and diet culture are interacting with your nervous system.
Karen Chambless, LPC-MHSP — Religious Trauma Therapist in Tennessee
I am a licensed professional counselor (LPC-MHSP) in Tennessee providing online therapy for religious trauma, faith deconstruction, and complex trauma.
I have:
a master’s degree in counseling from an accredited program
over 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience
5+ years of therapy practice
I specialize in working with adults healing from religious trauma, particularly those from evangelical, fundamentalist, or high-control religious environments.
I am a LGBTQ+ and neurodivergence-affirming provider, with additional experience supporting clients exploring queer identity, gender, and neurotypes such as ADHD, Autism, and High Sensitivity. I identity as Queer & Highly Sensitive and am passionate about supporting folks with queer and neurodivergent identities to grow and heal and be their whole magical selves.
My approach to religious trauma & deconstruction therapy
Affirming
Non-pathologizing
Secular and spiritually neutral
Understanding and informed about evangelical and fundamentalist culture
Identity-first - we name and consider the intersections of all your identities