Nicole Nelson LPC-MHSP

Learn more about Religious Deconstruction and Healing

Wherever you are in your relationship with faith, spirituality, or religion, you’re welcome here. Whether you’re questioning, redefining, healing from harm, or not sure what you believe at all, my role isn’t to convince you of anything, but to support you in finding what feels true for you.

If you’re deconstructing or unpacking your spirituality, I’m here to create a safe container for exploration, curiosity, and deep inner trust. Wherever your spiritual growth takes you, I’m here to help you feel both grounded and free to wander.

If your experiences in religion have felt confusing, overwhelming, or even harmful, you aren’t alone. High-control religion and purity culture can leave us feeling disconnected from our experiences, minds, and bodies. Even when we find our way to mental freedom, sometimes our bodies still don’t feel safe outside of the black and white. I personally understand the nuances of grieving the life you could have had, aligning with certain beliefs while healing from the ways they were used to harm you, and navigating relationships with those still in the system that hurt you. It doesn’t have to feel this way forever.

My Blogs About Deconstruction

My Blogs About Religious Trauma

People-pleasers get a bad rap, but there is a reason we develop the ability to anticipate the expectations of others and abandon our own needs to meet them. This isn’t a personality flaw, but a Nervous System response. The Fawn response happens when we feel it is unsafe to prioritize (or even consider) our own wants or needs.

It may have started in one relationship or system, but once our Nervous System learns how safe it can feel, it’s natural to fall into a pattern of self-abandonment in all relationships. If setting boundaries feels anywhere from scary to physically impossible, that makes sense. Your Nervous System is pulling rank and deciding it’s not safe. With somatic tools, EMDR, and IFS (parts work), we can begin to reconnect with our internal experience and find deeper, more genuine connection with loved ones.

I believe the things we consider our biggest flaws are actually creative survival tactics that once saved us. When we find safety within our own bodies, we can replace these coping skills that no longer serve us. To me, the resilience required to survive trauma defines the extremes of human strength and I’m passionate about creating a safe space where clients can explore this strength and channel it into building a life they love.

Trauma happens in the body, but so does healing. As a somatic psychotherapist, I work with clients to find safety in their bodies. Using gentle, body-based interventions, we can complete the trauma cycle within your nervous system, opening your path to healing. In addition, weaving Somatics into other treatments I offer, like EMDR and parts work (Internal Family Systems), can make them even more effective and lead to deeper healing.

I specialize in working with dissociation, no matter where on the spectrum you fall. Feeling like life isn’t real, like you aren’t a person, like your memories aren’t trustworthy, or like you’re missing large chunks of time are all ways your Nervous System has learned to protect you. It can be scary to face how powerful dissociation can be, but we can work together to help you feel grounded and present, even when triggered.

If you feel fractured inside or if you know you are made up of many parts of self, I would like to work together. I am passionate about making all parts feel safe to share in their own time and making sure no part ever feels undervalued or at risk of being deleted. You are whole as you are and we can work together to show parts that they each deserve to have their needs met after all the work they’ve done to keep you safe.

Learn more about therapy for Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents

You love your parent, but you often leave interactions with them feeling drained, confused, or angry. If you’re working to set boundaries, unlearn internalized beliefs, and shut down guilt and shame, I want to help. It’s hard to navigate parental relationships and family dynamics as an adult, especially if you feel your parent is lacking some of the tools needed to create a healthy and sustainable connection. 

You can find ways to engage that don’t drain you. You can set healthy boundaries out in love. You can choose what you will and won’t participate in. You don’t have to keep abandoning yourself to maintain connection.

Quiz: Do I have emotionally immature parents?

My Blogs About Navigating Family Dynamics as an Adult