All suffering is loss, but God leaves nothing unused in His plans. We help women see His redemptive thread throughout their circumstances and then look for opportunities to join with God in His transforming work.
Shepherding, Safety, and Spiritual Care Questionnaire
Spiritual, Emotional, and Psychological Abuse Questionnaire
Dr. Ann Maree Goudzwaard
Founder and Executive Director of Help[H]er.
Season 7 Episode 6 - Downsizing
Resources Related to This Story
Michelle’s story explores spiritual abuse across multiple church environments and the cumulative effects of unhealthy leadership, control, grief, loss, and institutional harm.
Holy Hurt — Hillary L. McBride
Explores the complex experience of being harmed within religious environments and the process of healing one’s relationship with faith, self, and community.
Downsizing — Michelle Van Loon
A resource particularly relevant to questions of identity, belonging, purpose, and the experiences of women as their lives and roles change.
Something’s Not Right — Wade Mullen
Helps readers identify manipulative behaviors and institutional patterns that can be difficult to recognize while living within them.
Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse — Lisa Oakley & Justin Humphreys
Provides language for understanding spiritual abuse and its lasting effects.
The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse — David Johnson & Jeff VanVonderen
Examines spiritually abusive systems and pathways toward freedom and healthier faith.
Need Support?
If this conversation stirred something for you, you do not have to navigate it alone.
Help[H]er provides trauma-specialized advocacy, education, and navigation for women in crisis in the church, guiding them toward safety, agency, and restored dignity.
Learn more or connect with Help[H]er at HelpHer.help.
About Safe to Hope
Safe to Hope creates space for women to tell their stories of suffering and loss with care, dignity, and honesty. Nothing in our storyteller conversations is intended to pressure forgiveness, reconciliation, or closure. Our aim is to listen with care and honor the dignity of each woman’s experience.
Season 7 Episode 5 - Expert Contributor Dr. Steven Tracy
Resources for Further Exploration
To Heal or Harm — Steven R. Tracy
Examines the ways Christian beliefs, leaders, and communities can either facilitate healing or compound the harm experienced by abuse survivors.
Mending the Soul
Dr. Tracy’s ministry provides resources and training designed to help individuals and communities understand and respond to abuse.
The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse — David Johnson & Jeff VanVonderen
A foundational resource for understanding the misuse of spiritual authority.
Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse — Lisa Oakley & Justin Humphreys
Explores the dynamics and impact of spiritual abuse and considers healthier institutional responses.
Need Support?
If this conversation stirred something for you, you do not have to navigate it alone.
Help[H]er provides trauma-specialized advocacy, education, and navigation for women in crisis in the church, guiding them toward safety, agency, and restored dignity.
Learn more or connect with Help[H]er at HelpHer.help.
About Safe to Hope
Safe to Hope creates space for women to tell their stories of suffering and loss with care, dignity, and honesty. Nothing in our storyteller conversations is intended to pressure forgiveness, reconciliation, or closure. Our aim is to listen with care and honor the dignity of each woman’s experience.
Season 7 Episode 4 – Irrelevant
Resources Related to This Story
Helen’s story raises important questions about belonging, power, gender, voice, and what happens when a person’s concerns are minimized or dismissed within a Christian community.
For the Love of Women — Dorothy Littell Greco
Examines the experiences of women within contemporary Christian culture and considers healthier relationships between women, men, and the Church.
A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts — Katherine Spearing
Explores the cumulative impact of gender-based experiences within evangelical Christian environments.
The Danger of Aging Women — Kate Boyd
Considers the experiences and changing roles of women as they age within church and Christian culture.
Something’s Not Right — Wade Mullen
Provides language for recognizing manipulation, institutional self-protection, and unhealthy responses to those who raise concerns.
The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse — David Johnson & Jeff VanVonderen
Explores spiritually abusive systems and the misuse of religious authority.
Additional articles referenced in the conversation:
- The Gospel Coalition article addressing pornography
- “Complementarianism is a Breeding Ground for Abuse and Infidelity” — Bobby Giles
Need Support?
If this conversation stirred something for you, you do not have to navigate it alone.
Help[H]er provides trauma-specialized advocacy, education, and navigation for women in crisis in the church, guiding them toward safety, agency, and restored dignity.
Learn more or connect with Help[H]er at HelpHer.help.
About Safe to Hope
Safe to Hope creates space for women to tell their stories of suffering and loss with care, dignity, and honesty. Nothing in our storyteller conversations is intended to pressure forgiveness, reconciliation, or closure. Our aim is to listen with care and honor the dignity of each woman’s experience.
Season 7 Episode 3 - Expert Contributor Dr. Lisa Oakley
Resources for Further Exploration
Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse — Lisa Oakley & Justin Humphreys
Explores what spiritual abuse is, how it develops within Christian environments, its impact on victims, and how churches can respond more safely.
Breaking the Silence on Spiritual Abuse — Lisa Oakley & Kathryn Kinmond
Research examining experiences of spiritual abuse within Christian communities and the consequences for those harmed.
The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse — David Johnson & Jeff VanVonderen
A foundational resource on unhealthy spiritual authority and spiritually abusive systems.
Something’s Not Right — Wade Mullen
Examines manipulative patterns and institutional responses that can obscure abuse and discredit those who report it.
Need Support?
If this conversation stirred something for you, you do not have to navigate it alone.
Help[H]er provides trauma-specialized advocacy, education, and navigation for women in crisis in the church, guiding them toward safety, agency, and restored dignity.
Learn more or connect with Help[H]er at HelpHer.help.
About Safe to Hope
Safe to Hope creates space for women to tell their stories of suffering and loss with care, dignity, and honesty. Nothing in our storyteller conversations is intended to pressure forgiveness, reconciliation, or closure. Our aim is to listen with care and honor the dignity of each woman’s experience.
