Religious trauma & cult recovery
Purity culture and religious sexual shame
Shame taught that early doesn't stay in the room where it was taught. It turns up decades later, in your body, during the exact moments you most wanted to be present for.
You might recognize
Some of this may sound familiar
- Your body tightens at the moment you most want to be close.
- You can say yes clearly and still leave the room in your head.
- Desire shows up with a running commentary attached.
- Saying any of this out loud feels like breaking a rule that still applies.
In the work
What we actually do
Your pace, not a protocol
Nothing here requires you to narrate your history in order or prove you're ready. We go at the speed you can actually feel, and stopping is a legitimate move rather than a setback. You set what gets touched on and when.
Shame lives in the body
You can hold a considered, adult position on sex and still find your shoulders climbing toward your ears. That gap is the point of somatic work: we follow the flinch, the held breath, the urge to leave, and let those tell us something the argument can't. Shame narrows what you can notice; curiosity gives it room back.
No prescribed version of healthy
I'm not working toward a particular sex life for you, including a more conventional one. Whether you want more, less, different, or none of it is yours to define, and my job is to help you hear your own answer under the noise. Sex-positive here means I'm not grading you.
“I show up as a real person, not a blank screen.”
FAQ
Questions people ask
Will you tell me what a healthy sex life looks like?
No. That definition is yours to arrive at, and handing you someone else's is how you got here. I'll help you notice what's happening in your body and what you actually want, without scoring it. Therapy outcomes are not guaranteed.
Do I have to describe my sex life in detail?
No. You decide what gets said and when, and plenty of this work happens through what your body is doing rather than explicit narrative.
Is there physical touch in somatic therapy?
No. There is no physical touch. Somatic psychotherapy means we include what is happening in your body as information, alongside talking, and weekly sessions take place via telehealth. Pain, function and anything else medical belongs with a medical provider — I'm not a physician, and I don't prescribe medication.
What if I still hold the faith I grew up with?
Then we work inside that, not around it. Plenty of people want the shame gone and the faith intact, and sorting one from the other is a reasonable thing to bring here.
I'm not in New York. What are my options?
Weekly therapy takes place via telehealth. I am licensed in New York and can only offer psychotherapy services to people who reside in New York State. Coaching is a separate, non-clinical service offered more widely than New York State; it is not therapy and is not licensed mental-health treatment.
What if things get hard between sessions?
If you are in danger right now, call or text 988 or dial 911. This site isn't a crisis service and email is not monitored for emergencies.
Start with a free consultation
A short conversation to see whether we would be a good fit for working together. Weekly therapy takes place via telehealth. I am licensed in New York and can only offer psychotherapy services to people who reside in New York State.