078 - Post-Religious Mental Health: A Conversation with Suandria Hall

Welcome to a special edition of the Life After God podcast. I'm excited to share conversations with you from a growing number of professionals who specialize in religious trauma, deconversion, and post-religious mental health. My goal with these conversations is to offer you a diverse range of perspectives, share practical insights you can use in your daily life, and introduce you to some amazing humans who are committed to helping others thrive after leaving religion. My name is Brian Peck, and I'm a licensed clinical social worker in Boise Idaho specializing in religious trauma and mental health challenges related to the deconversion process. Today I'm excited to introduce you to Suandria Hall who is a licensed mental health professional in the Denver area who also specializes in religious trauma and helping people navigate life transitions including support for leaving high-demand religious groups. I met Suandria online through her Instagram account, My Choice My Power, which is also the name of her private practice in the Denver area. I was struck by her thoughtful reflections on mental health and her keen insight into the process of exiting religion. It's been a real honor to learn from her experience and hope you find this conversation as meaningful as I did. My goal for these episodes is to expand the conversation about post-religious mental health that includes a range of clinical voices, therapy modalities, and practices you can incorporate into your healing process. You may be surprised to learn that there's a growing number of mental health professionals out there already doing this work. As therapists, we often work with the individual, and what's said in the room stays in the room. These episodes are an opportunity to share what we're learning and to provide some psychoeducational content to support your journey. Note, these conversations are intended to be educational in nature and are in no way a substitute for working with your own licensed mental health professional or healthcare provider. As with any conversation that may reactivate past trauma, please put your needs first. This particular conversation is not graphic, but the topic and content may still be challenging for some nervous systems. Healing trauma is a dynamic process, and it's perfectly okay to step back and reengage once you have more resources available to you. **SPECIAL OFFER** Join the Life After God community as a Member between now and June 21, 2019, and receive a limited edition magnet. Visit www.patreon.com/lifeaftergod and join today! Be a part of the next LIVE panel discussion, "Facing Grief & Loss After God," on Friday, June 28 at 6:00 pm Pacific Time. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1219812888177918/ Follow Suandria Hall on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mychoicemypowercounseling/ On the web - http://www.mychoicemypower.com/ Connect with Brian Peck on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/RoomToThrive/ On the web - https://www.roomtothrive.com/ Learn more about Life After God at our website - www.lifeaftergod.org