Blog

Helen Jun PhD Helen Jun PhD

What are the 3 Phases of Trauma Therapy?

I have had many patients come to therapy with me and say that talk therapy has not been helpful for them. Specifically, I hear the same complaint over and over: I felt like all I did was talk and open up, and I didn’t feel like there was a direction to therapy. When I hear complaints like this, I always want to start with some education about what trauma therapy looks like. Let's dive in.

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Helen Jun PhD Helen Jun PhD

Racial Trauma and Intersectionality

Many people are familiar with the idea of intersectionality, or how different aspects of our identities intersect with one another to make us who we are as people. What are the different ways that racial trauma shows up in our lives? Let’s dive in.

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Helen Jun PhD Helen Jun PhD

What is Inclusive Therapy for Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI)? 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “I felt like my White therapist just didn’t get it” or “I quit therapy when my therapist told me to just set boundaries with my immigrant parents.” Don’t get me wrong, I think any therapist of any race can be culturally inclusive with the right training, consideration, and sensitivity. For example, I trust the diverse team here at Woven to be thoughtful of issues of (de)colonization, Asian American frame switching, and being flexible with interventions to consider unique aspects of identity.

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Helen Jun PhD Helen Jun PhD

What is Racial Trauma?

How does racism show up in our body, thoughts, and emotions? People who are familiar with racism may know that it is acknowledged as a public health crisis by the American Public Health Association. But how do daily experiences of racism, discrimination, and microaggressions affect us psychologically and in our trauma symptoms? How does it show up in our bodies, thoughts, and emotions? Let’s dive in.

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Helen Jun PhD Helen Jun PhD

Ask A Therapist: What does healing from trauma look like?

Like any complex trauma, healing from religious trauma is not linear. Because cults or fundamentalist religious communities tend to try to control your whole lifestyle and internal experiences, religious trauma encompasses so much: your relationships, thoughts, feelings, body, sexuality, and finances– just to name a few. Here are some potential signs that you’re healing from religious trauma.

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Helen Jun PhD Helen Jun PhD

Religious Trauma and OCD

Why do so many religious trauma survivors have OCD? Something that you may not know is that religious trauma and obsessive, compulsive symptoms frequently go hand-in-hand. This might be a little difficult to grasp so take your time reading this post. If you have OCD and religious trauma, it could be relieving for you to realize the connection is not just you. 

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Helen Jun PhD Helen Jun PhD

Religious Trauma and Delayed Sexual Development

One of the most painful aspects of religious trauma is sexual repression. In psychological research, we see that early life trauma results in developmental delays. This is because brain development can be interrupted by maltreatment, neglect, or abuse in adolescence or childhood.

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Helen Jun PhD Helen Jun PhD

Religious Trauma and Delayed Relational Development 

In rigid, high-control religious environments, you may be taught that there is a specific way to relate to others that is permissible in the eyes of God. This formulaic, dogmatic, and fear-based teaching may get in the way of healthy relational development.

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Helen Jun PhD Helen Jun PhD

Religious Trauma and Delayed Emotional Development 

One of the most painful aspects of religious trauma is the way it teaches us to distrust our own emotions. In psychological research, we see that early life trauma results in developmental delays. This is because brain development can be interrupted by maltreatment, neglect, or abuse in adolescence or childhood.

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Helen Jun PhD Helen Jun PhD

Four Things That May Surprise You About Religious Trauma

Recovering from religious trauma can be overwhelming and confusing, but there are commonalities that those with religious trauma share which may demystify the experience for you and help you feel less alone. Here are four things that may surprise you about religious trauma.

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