Frank Schaeffer In Conversation with Dr. Marlene Winell, Ph.D., exploring her book, Leaving the Fold; a self-help book that examines the effects of authoritarian religion on individuals who leave the faith.
Refresh Page for Podcast
Dr. Marlene Winell is a psychologist and specialist in religious recovery consulting. Her background includes over 30 years of experience in human services, in both community and academic settings. She holds a doctorate in Human Development and Family Studies from Pennsylvania State University.
Born and raised overseas by missionary parents, Marlene was immersed in fundamentalist Christianity from childhood. She moved away from that religion during college and found the transition process so difficult and intriguing that she began to research it professionally. In 1994 she published Leaving the Fold: a Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving their Religion, which has become a leading self-help book in the field of religious recovery.
In 2011, Dr. Winell named Religious Trauma Syndrome in a series of three published articles in the British journal, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Today. Since then the term has spread, providing a needed name for this condition.
Based in Western Massachusetts, Dr. Winell is the founder and director of Journey Free, an agency providing resources for religious recovery. Programs include individual consultation, an online support group, retreats, recovery courses, and a helping professionals group. The next Religious Recovery Bootcamp is coming up in July, 2021.
Marlene will be a keynote speaker at the Conference on Religious Trauma, which will be May 11 – 16, 2021. Goals for CORT include educating therapists and lay persons about religious trauma syndrome and connecting survivors of religious trauma with qualified therapists and resources to aid in recovery. Dr. Winell will be discussing the origins of Religious Trauma Syndrome and treatment approaches.
