Religious trauma certainly makes leaving an unhealthy environment difficult, and it absolutely makes assessing new environments for health difficult, too. Enter: Robert Jay Lifton’s Eight Criteria for Thought Reform from his 1961 book on high-control cult environments. Despite being an old book, these eight criteria remain a robust framework for understanding how cults and other high-control environments maintain control of their group members, effectively brainwashing them to protect the system in power. Examining each criterion gives us an opportunity to imagine and consider what a healthy church environment might look like.

A free 15-minute phone consult is a common practice in the world of therapy. It’s an opportunity for you, the client, to assess if a therapist is the right fit for you without paying the emotional and financial cost of a full appointment. It’s also an opportunity for us, the therapist, to assess if we are the best choice for you and your needs.

It’s also a bit awkward.

I mean, it’s a 15-minute conversation with a stranger about the deepest stuff going on in your life. Where do you even begin?

Insert the following: a non-exhaustive list of questions you might ask your prospective therapist