Therapy for Religious Deconstruction in Tennessee
The questions tend to sneak up on you, at least at first.
What if [that belief] isn’t really true?
What does it mean if [this spiritual leader] was doing some sketchy, immoral, or even illegal stuff in their free time all while lecturing other people about not doing anything wrong ever?
What if [this sacred text] isn’t supposed to be interpreted like a courtroom transcript, literal and factual?
What if [this spiritual experience] was not organic and supernatural but rather the effect of live music and chant-like lyrics on emotionally vulnerable people?
What if the best people you know don’t belong to any religious community?
What if the worst people you know all do belong to a religious community? To YOUR religious community?
What if this religion is doing more harm than good in the world?
Starting to ask questions of the people, beliefs, and memories you’ve held as deeply significant can be a terrifying thing.
We’ve often been taught that even asking the “wrong” question could cost you friendships, jobs, leadership positions, maybe even your salvation or safety in the afterlife.
And even still… you’re getting the sense that a role, relationship, or religion is just no longer working for you.
Maybe you’ve been trying to get those questions to stop, but
it only works for so long.
Maybe you’ve been secretly starting to google some things.
Maybe you’re starting to worry that you’re depressed, or noticing more and more panic showing up in your life.
Maybe you don’t feel that scared anymore, but you’re noticing more and more anger, even rage, within yourself.
Either way, you don’t have to just keep trying to shove the questions down, numb them out, avoid them, distract yourself from them.
And you don’t have to keep doing this on your own.
Therapy for deconstruction can provide the support that other folks in your life — no matter how much they care about you — may not be able to give, especially if they’re still very much in the belief system you’re deconstructing.
Why go to therapy for deconstruction?
What makes deconstruction a mental health experience is that it’s not just “asking some questions,” even if it starts that way.
Deconstruction is usually:
a cognitive process, with swirling thoughts and intrusive questions and self-doubt and worry,
but it’s also an emotional process, with fear and dread and anger and sadness,
and it’s also a spiritual process, with impacts on our sense of a meaningful existence, connections to others, and connections to something outside of ourselves.
I know what it feels like to realize everything that has felt like safety,
is actually more of a cage.
I’ve deconstructed multiple sets of beliefs, more than once,
in different seasons of my life,
and I’ve been through some “dark nights of the soul.”
Therapy with me is a safe space to be questioning, venting, grieving,
deconstructing or deconverting, healing from,
and even re-integrating religion/spirituality.
Let me help you get out of thought loops, shame spirals, and self-doubt trapdoors.
We can sort through your experiences together, identifying any pieces you want to keep and any you want to let go of.
I can help you build a life that’s more meaningful than you ever thought was possible. A life that doesn’t involve thought-policing, emotion-denying, or body-repressing, where your whole brain and whole heart are welcome.
Therapy for deconstruction can bring you to a new space of clarity and openness.
Karen Chambless, LPC-MHSP - Credentials
Karen Chambless is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in the state of Tennessee with Mental Health Service Provider (MHSP) designation. This means she has completed a masters degree in counseling from an accredited school, completed over 500 hours of training and clinical work while in school, passed two national examinations and a state exam, and practiced for over two years under supervision by an already licensed counselor, accruing at least 3,000 hours of experience and 150 hours of supervision. Karen has been practicing therapy for 5 years, but spent the first 25+ years of her life as a quintessential eldest daughter and the “mom friend” of her friend group, so she’s had a long time to hone her listening and supportive-question-asking skills.
Karen Chambless is an expert and clinical specialist in religious trauma. She has advanced training and experience in treating both complex trauma and religious trauma, as well as training and experience working with folks figuring out their queer/trans identity and/or neurotype (Autism, ADHD, Highly Sensitive, etc). Karen identifies as Queer & Highly Sensitive and is passionate about supporting folks with LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent identities to grow and heal and be their whole magical selves.