Schedule and Live Session Details

Summit Overview

The Beyond the Wound Summit is made up of 3 weeks pre-recorded interviews with thoughtful leaders in the field of religious trauma recovery. All weekly videos will be available after each live, so that you can watch them at your own pace.

Every Sunday beginning at 7:00 AM PST, we will host a live virtual event that will include:

  • A welcome and intro to the week’s topic

  • A 15 minute key-note speaker talk

  • An embodied practice

    • Opportunities to connect with other students, attendees, sponsors and speakers

A Note from the founders:

We understand that the subject of religious trauma is inherently fraught. We are committed to front-loading participants with information about content and some basic tools to care for self, when/if you are triggered, because we want to ensure safety and informed consent. Our goal is to help you resolve trauma, not re-enact it!


Week One: You Are Not Broken


Sunday January 15, 2023

Kickoff Virtual Live Event begins at 7:00 AM PST

  • Welcome & Housekeeping: Beyond the Wound Founders, Kara Erickson and Lydia Bakkar

  • Ensuring Safety and Informed Consent with Rachael Spyker, MA, RCC

  • Introduction to and Embodied Practice led by Sara Aird of Breaking Down CPTSD

  • Stretch and Mingle break: Visit sponsor booths and see Table Talk topics

  • Expert Talk: Assessing for Religious Trauma- Dr. Kathryn Keller

  • Q&A hosted by Rachael Spyker and Andrew Kerb + Special Guests Dr. Kathryn Keller and Brian Peck

    • Or participate in moderated Table Talks with other attendees

  • Goodbyes and Intro to weekly content

*Bonus Pre recorded 45 minute Process Art Embodied Practice with Bevie Labrie

  • These are pre recorded video interviews that you can access beginning January 15th and watch at your own pace anytime between January 15th and March 1st, 2023.

  • Language Matters. Shifting the Conversation:

    “Trauma is not a disease, but rather a human experience rooted in survival instincts.” -Peter Levine

    In his interview Brian gives us an overview of the evolution of trauma research in general and religious trauma in particular as he helps us discover that our “survival response system, is not a moral failing, is not a disease, it’s not something to be ashamed” and that “in the same way that trauma does not exist in the event, religious trauma does not exist in beliefs, practices or structures of religion itself” but rather in how our nervous systems respond to what happens to us.

  • Discovering the Body’s Innate Blueprint for Healing with Tammy Chow.

  • The Key to Moving Out of Survival Mode.

    Defining trauma as “anything that’s too much, too soon, or too fast that overwhelms our ability to cope and return to a sense of safety” Dr. Laura takes us on a journey through her own experience with high demand religion giving us a personal account of what healing from trauma can look like on a very practical level.

  • Re-Writing Old Narratives.

    Crystle help us understand how, when we get into thought and behavior patterns that feel problematic to us, that doesn’t mean we are broken. We created these patterns, perhaps before we can even remember, to protect ourselves from further hurt. Understanding that these patterns aren't trying to sabotage us, but help us, allows us to put away judgment and get curious about the parts of ourselves that feel uncomfortable or messy so they can tell us what we need to feel safe again.

  • How the Creative Process Invites Us Into Deeper Healing.

    The creative process can help us move through emotions and trauma that may be difficult to express otherwise. And often, when we engage creatively we approach our inner landscape in a way that feels like play. In this interview, Bevie takes us through her process of creating artistic safety to begin unpacking trauma, creating containers for overwhelming feelings that can be open and shut at will, and deepening our relationship with our inner knowing.

  • Moving From Fear to Freedom One Step at a Time.

    There's a popular saying out in the world today that "in order to heal, we need to feel". And while learning to identify and process our emotions is one of the key steps to healing ourselves, sometimes feeling our feelings can be really difficult. This is especially true if we experienced what Sara Aird calls "Childhood Emotional Neglect". In this interview, we talk about what CEN is, how it can create CPTSD symptoms, and how that can affect us into adulthood. She also shares some of her best practices for beginning to give ourselves the emotional care we need to thrive now and in the future.


Week Two: You Are Your Own


Sunday January 22, 2023

Virtual Live Event begins at 7:00 AM PST

  • Welcome & Housekeeping: Beyond the Wound Founders, Kara Erickson and Lydia Bakkar

  • Embodied Practice led by Tammy Chow

  • Expert Talk: You Are Good: A Core State Perspective with Dr. Hillary McBride

  • Stretch and Mingle break: Visit sponsor booths and see Table Talk topics

  • Round Table Discussion: Toxic Theology from 3 perspectives: Q&A with Dr. Laura Anderson, Dr. Mark Karris and Jo Luehmann hosted by Teri Hales

  • Q&A hosted by Rachael Spyker and Andrew Kerb

    • Or participate in moderated Table Talks with other attendees

  • Goodbyes and Intro to weekly content

  • These are pre recorded video interviews that you can access beginning January 22nd and watch at your own pace anytime between January 22nd and March 1st, 2023.

  • (re-)Discovering Your Values.

    What do you believe now? Teri Hales knows leaving high demand religion can sometimes place undue pressure and stress to explore and solidify new beliefs, new answers, and new certainties during our faith transition, deconversion and deconstruction. Certified religious transition and trauma recovery coach, Teri Hales, takes us on a journey of her own religious deconstruction and invites us to allow permission to take our time and get comfortable with the discomfort of uncertainty. “Faith is what happens when we don’t understand.”

  • (re-)Discovering Your Voice

    Kendra helps us understand ourselves by sharing her own journey of self-discovery, exploring the three plains of knowing: mind, heart (emotions), body. And guiding us each back to our own internal compass and wisdom. You can trust yourself!

  • Every behavior, every reaction, every thought, every body sensation when you understand it in the context of your own experiences.

    Yolanda helps us make sense of our experiences, gives us advice for how to connect and find safety outside of community when you’re first starting to heal and community still feels scary. She helps us understand the wisdom of our bodies and how slowing and listening to what they are telling us is a crucial part of our healing journey and healthy living.

  • The Body Mind Connection.

    What does the body have to do with healing? Tawny George (LPCC) integrates the cognitive and somatic to help individuals experiencing sexual abuse, religious trauma, and life transitions. So often the body intuitively knows what the mind is resistant to comprehend and yet many leaving high-demand religion have been taught to distrust, even fear, the body. Tawny shares her own story of leaving evangelical Christianity and equips us with valuable resources to better dial into and listen to our bodies as a source of healing and restoration.

  • A Conversation at The Intersection of Sexuality, Suicidality and Hope.

    Bryce is a Registered Art Therapist with an incredible story coming out at a dangerous time for the LGBTQ community, followed by addiction, thoughts of suicide, and finally reclamation and healing through the power of art therapy. Bryce shares his journey with the visual aid of his deeply thought-provoking and emotionally vulnerable artwork. Healing can come from numerous sources, but Bryce demonstrates the power of art therapy as a tool to help individuals explore healthy recovery.

  • Permission To Be Unapologetically YOU.

    David Hayward knows a thing or two about listening to your gut instincts and living as your own authority. As he listened to his own inner wisdom, he left the ministry multiple times and grappled with the loss of career, community, and certainty. In this interview, David talks about his own process of realizing when he needed to make changes, learning to trust himself to find the solutions that worked best for his life, and how he worked through the indoctrination that so often keeps us from trusting the things we already instinctively know.


Week Three: You Are Not Alone


Sunday January 29, 2023

Virtual Live Event begins at 7:00 AM PST

  • Welcome & Housekeeping: Beyond the Wound Founders, Kara Erickson and Lydia Bakkar

  • Embodied Practice Guided Journaling led by Joel Cross

  • Mini Concert with Joel Cross

  • Stretch and Mingle break: Visit sponsor booths and see Table Talk topics

  • Healing From the Impact of Purity Culture with Linda Kay Klein and Tara Teng

  • Q&A hosted by Rachael Spyker and Andrew Kerb

    • Or participate in moderated Table Talks with other attendees

  • Goodbyes and Intro to weekly content

*Bonus 15 minute video Embodied Boundaries: Sex and Purity Culture with Tara Teng.

  • These are pre recorded video interviews that you can access beginning January 29th and watch at your own pace anytime between January 29th and March 1st, 2023.

  • Raised in the Children of God Cult, Angel knows what it means to have all sense of self stripped away. “When we grow up in an environment that constantly dismisses our feelings we learn that our personal experience and feelings don't matter." This impacts our ability to make decisions, stunts our emotional growth and leads to codependency. Through an ongoing process of mindfulness, self-discovery and self-confidence, Angel has re-discovered the self that was stripped from her and now helps others learn how to come home to themselves as well. Angel isn’t in the business of telling people what to do with their lives, but she is an excellent guide if you’re looking to re-discover the sense of self that was lost, in high demand religion, so that you can begin to trust your own inner knowing.

  • Molly Davis, walks us through both the “red flags,” in relationships, that signify boundary violations, so that we can steer clear of unhealthy relationships and know how to best care for ourselves when these red flags exist in our significant relationships. She also highlights “green flags” to help us know what constitutes healthy relationships and how healthy boundaries invite others in instead of shutting them out.

  • The Power of Consent.

    Cindy takes us on a journey through her experience of deconstructing while parenting and invites us to consider how we are ensuring that we view, and treat our children as full human beings including making sure that we don’t violate their consent when it comes to their own spirituality.

  • Breaking Generational Cycles One Moment at a Time.

    OT turned “Polyvagal Parenting” coach, Maggie Viers, describes how parenting “became this portal to my own healing” as she recognized the discrepancy between her children’s age-appropriate behaviors and her responses. Maggie helps us discover how we can slow down and notice what is happening in our bodies, when we are triggered, so that we can tend to our own needs before engaging with our children. And with awareness comes healing.

  • What is the Spiritual Power Inventory tool? Every relationship includes a spiritual power and authority dynamic. Psychedelic Therapist and Co-founder of the Reclamation Collective, Kayla Felten, shares how we can protect ourselves from spiritual abuse by defining healthy boundaries, and how we can maintain safe, shared spaces with others when we are in any relationship where there is a power differential.

  • Waking Up To The Wisdom of Our Bodies.

    How do we heal trauma and reclaim who we truly are in a politically, socially, and culturally body-hostile world? Tara Teng is an Embodiment Coach helping individuals navigate the vulnerable and often uncomfortable areas of body autonomy, embodied boundaries, and sexual reclamation. Her own story of breaking free from purity culture will surely resonate with those whose sexuality has been exploited, damaged, and controlled by high demand religion.

  • Making Space For Grief

    Heidi's journey, of self-discovery and trauma healing, has included necessary endings as well as embracing beauty, joy and freedom. With insights from her private practice as well as her personal life, Heidi highlights how we can begin to make space for the grief that comes along with having to say goodbye to relationships as well as old ways of being. She answers the questions: is it possible to grieve and experience joy at the same time? And in what ways can we find, and embrace, new beginnings?


Week Four: Next Steps


Sunday February 5, 2023

Virtual Live Event begins at 7:00 AM PST

  • Welcome & Housekeeping: Beyond the Wound Founders, Kara Erickson and Lydia Bakkar

  • Expert Discussion: The Intersection of Personal and Collective Healing, featuring Max Tang, Lee Start, Rachel Spyker and Jo Luehmann.

  • Stretch and Mingle break: Visit sponsor booths and see Table Talk topics

  • Considering Next Steps

  • Q&A hosted by Rachael Spyker and Andrew Kerb

    • Or participate in moderated Table Talks with other attendees

  • Goodbyes