By: Swapnil Gohil, Psy.D., Provisional Psychologist Licensee- Lois E. Gibbon defined spiritual abuse as “The act of a spiritual leader or system that tries to control, manipulate, or dominate a person.” We have seen extreme forms of spiritual abuse broadcasted over news channels or the multiple threads of various social media platforms. However, does this form of abuse occur in our local churches? Before diving into this topic, let’s look at the history and see if the church has ever engaged in activities that can illustrate or personify this definition.
Historically speaking, the church has been involved in selling indulgences, basically manipulating individuals to believe they buy tickets to heaven. The church also persecuted individuals during the split between the Roman Catholic and Protestant ideologies. Currently, the church has struggled with sexual abuse within the Catholic church. These examples show that spiritual abuse is similar to emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. However, the difference is the congregation or spiritual leader’s relationship with the victim. Abuse within a personal, intimate relationship is kept private behind closed doors. Spiritual abuse allows the minimization of an individual to happen in a congregation through nonadherence to a stipulated mission of the organization. This dynamic can ostracize an individual, for it may cause separations with friends and family members that have established one’s self-identity.
Therefore, the break may cause fear within the individual, and one may begin to question one’s understanding of abuse. Thus, an individual may engage in the ideology of the “No talk” rule. A warning sign of spiritual abuse is that an individual can no longer respectfully question leadership, thus allowing the church to maintain its status quo. In his book Churches That Abuse, Ron Enroth stated, “Traditional evangelical churches value and respect individual differences. Mostly, they encourage people to become unique persons in their own right, not mere photocopies of someone else. Authoritarian, manipulative fringe groups, on the other hand, encourage clones and promote cookie-cutter lifestyles.”
Trauma in any domain can be detrimental to the individual. Trauma is a response to being abused, and denial is the most prominent factor inhibiting an individual from receiving the proper care. Denial may be a conscious decision, or the individual may not understand what they experienced as wrong. However, the individual’s body may register the trauma, and they may be easily triggered by any experience that may be relatable to the trauma. Thus, whether the trauma is spiritual, physical, emotional, or sexual, the effects of trauma are similar.
The most common symptoms of trauma are:
- ·Trouble sleeping
- Fearing people and relationships
- Having panic attacks
- Having anxiety
- Substance abuse
- Low self-esteem
- Feelings of self-hate
- Suicidal ideation
How Dr. Swapnil Gohil treats Abuse
Dr. Swapnil Gohil has extensive experience working with trauma. His approach to trauma is rooted in an amalgamation of Prolonged Exposure and Trauma-Focused CBT. Dr. Gohil became well versed in these forms of therapy through his experience in psychiatric hospitals, crisis centers, substance rehabilitation centers, teaching hospital settings, and forensic hospitals.
My goal is to meet you where you are and allow you to be the captain of the ship and the driving force of therapy. Although processing trauma is not easy, my training and experience allows me to be sensitive to the patient’s inhibitions and boundaries. Therefore, treatment is conducted at your own pace.
Whether emotional, physical, sexual, or spiritual trauma, I am here to help.
Please feel free to contact Davenport Psychology if you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment. I am here to talk and help you break the barriers of trauma.