If you've ever had Scripture twisted to keep you silent, ashamed, or stuck in an abusive relationship, you are not alone. In this episode of Hey Tabi, licensed trauma therapist Tabitha Westbrook breaks down why biblical literacy is a critical part of healing after abuse, coercive control, and spiritual harm.

You'll learn:
📖 What true biblical literacy is (and why it's different from memorizing random verses)
❌ How abusers misuse Scripture to manipulate and control survivors
✝ Why understanding the Bible for yourself can be a powerful tool for reclaiming your voice and your faith
🙌🏼 How to try out different Bible translations to find the version that feels safest and least triggering for your healing journey

If you’ve struggled with spiritual abuse, religious trauma, or confusion about God's heart for you, this episode will equip you to take your first gentle steps back toward truth, safety, and hope.

🎧 If this episode resonated with you, please like, subscribe, and share to help others who need this information!

Wanna say hi? Send a text!

🎧 Subscribe to Hey Tabi for more expert conversations on trauma, faith, and healing.

Order Body & Soul, Healed & Whole: An Invitational Guide to Healthy Sexuality After Trauma, Abuse, and Coercive Control

📩 Connect with Tabitha:
💻 Tabitha's Website - www.tabithawestbrook.com
📲 Tabitha's Instagram - www.instagram.com/tabithathecounselor
🎙️ Podcast Homepage - https://heytabi.buzzsprout.com

💻 The Journey & The Process Website - www.thejourneyandtheprocess.com
📲 The Journey & The Process Instagram - www.instagram.com/_tjatp

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel & watch podcast episodes there

👍 If this episode resonated with you, please like, subscribe, and share to help others who need this information!

🚨 Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and is intended for educational purposes only. If you're in crisis or need therapy, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional.

Need to know how to find a great therapist? Read this...

In the beginning was the Word. Jesus spoke everything into existence. We know when we've been traumatized the words spoken over us are curses. Those curses often replay like a horrific record. Today we’re breaking chains and speaking life.

Healing from trauma requires breaking the chains of harmful words spoken over us and replacing them with life-giving truth that restores our sense of dignity, worth, and value.

• Speaking life over ourselves counteracts the curses and negative messages that trauma imprints on us
• God never aligns with abusive structures, systems, or individuals
• Spiritual abuse distorts God's voice and weaponizes faith against victims
• Boundaries are not rebellion—even Jesus established healthy boundaries
• Our identity is not defined by what happened to us or the coping skills we used
• Healing isn't linear but resembles a bowl of spaghetti with ups and downs
• Joy is possible even after trauma
• We can move beyond the labels of "victim" or "survivor" to become an "overcomer"
• Creating personal reminders of truth can help rewire our brains from those distorted thought patterns

I encourage you to write your own life-speaking truths that address your specific situation. Keep them in a notebook or on index cards and review them regularly, especially when negative thoughts are screaming at you.

If you're willing, share your affirmations in the comments on the YouTube video or head over to my Instagram @tabithathecounselor and share them there!

Wanna say hi? Send a text!

🎧 Subscribe to Hey Tabi for more expert conversations on trauma, faith, and healing.

Order Body & Soul, Healed & Whole: An Invitational Guide to Healthy Sexuality After Trauma, Abuse, and Coercive Control

📩 Connect with Tabitha:
💻 Tabitha's Website - www.tabithawestbrook.com
📲 Tabitha's Instagram - www.instagram.com/tabithathecounselor
🎙️ Podcast Homepage - https://heytabi.buzzsprout.com

💻 The Journey & The Process Website - www.thejourneyandtheprocess.com
📲 The Journey & The Process Instagram - www.instagram.com/_tjatp

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel & watch podcast episodes there

👍 If this episode resonated with you, please like, subscribe, and share to help others who need this information!

🚨 Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and is intended for educational purposes only. If you're in crisis or need therapy, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional.

Need to know how to find a great therapist? Read this...

What No One Tells You About Using Your Voice After Trauma

In this powerful episode of the Hey Tabi podcast, licensed trauma therapist Tabitha Westbrook unpacks the often untold truth about what happens when survivors start to use their voice after trauma. Drawing from her expertise in domestic abuse, coercive control, and Christian trauma recovery, Tabitha explores the emotional, relational, and systemic risks that can arise when you begin speaking your truth.

You’ll learn how reclaiming your voice can lead to life-changing healing—but also how it can shake up relationships, trigger resistance from unhealthy systems, and stir up old pain. With wisdom and compassion, Tabitha offers practical guidance on how to safely and confidently use your voice while staying grounded in self-awareness, discernment, and faith.

Whether you’re healing from emotional abuse, navigating complex trauma, or trying to integrate your Christian faith with your recovery journey, this episode will give you the clarity, tools, and encouragement you need to keep going.

Wanna say hi? Send a text!

🎧 Subscribe to Hey Tabi for more expert conversations on trauma, faith, and healing.

Order Body & Soul, Healed & Whole: An Invitational Guide to Healthy Sexuality After Trauma, Abuse, and Coercive Control

📩 Connect with Tabitha:
💻 Tabitha's Website - www.tabithawestbrook.com
📲 Tabitha's Instagram - www.instagram.com/tabithathecounselor
🎙️ Podcast Homepage - https://heytabi.buzzsprout.com

💻 The Journey & The Process Website - www.thejourneyandtheprocess.com
📲 The Journey & The Process Instagram - www.instagram.com/_tjatp

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel & watch podcast episodes there

👍 If this episode resonated with you, please like, subscribe, and share to help others who need this information!

🚨 Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and is intended for educational purposes only. If you're in crisis or need therapy, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional.

Need to know how to find a great therapist? Read this...

🔥 Ready to FINALLY Break Free From Your Trauma? LISTEN TO THIS! 🔥

Are you exhausted from feeling stuck, numb, and unable to heal from past hurts? In just about 20 minutes, discover 5 POWERFUL STEPS that can completely transform your healing journey! Trauma therapist Tabitha Westbrook reveals practical, life-changing insights into recognizing trauma, creating safety, finding specialized support, and building healthy community and connection—even if you've been hurt before.

You'll learn how to:

✨ Clearly identify and articulate your trauma experience.

✨ Recognize hidden signs of trauma's impact on your body and mind.

✨ Develop REAL safety—physically, emotionally, and relationally.

✨ Select specialized trauma-informed care (including EMDR, Brainspotting, Somatic Experiencing, and Internal Family Systems).

✨ Embrace healthy community and connection, even after deep relational wounds.

This isn't just another self-help podcast—these proven techniques and insights are backed by extensive professional experience and compassionate wisdom.

Wanna say hi? Send a text!

🎧 Subscribe to Hey Tabi for more expert conversations on trauma, faith, and healing.

Order Body & Soul, Healed & Whole: An Invitational Guide to Healthy Sexuality After Trauma, Abuse, and Coercive Control

📩 Connect with Tabitha:
💻 Tabitha's Website - www.tabithawestbrook.com
📲 Tabitha's Instagram - www.instagram.com/tabithathecounselor
🎙️ Podcast Homepage - https://heytabi.buzzsprout.com

💻 The Journey & The Process Website - www.thejourneyandtheprocess.com
📲 The Journey & The Process Instagram - www.instagram.com/_tjatp

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel & watch podcast episodes there

👍 If this episode resonated with you, please like, subscribe, and share to help others who need this information!

🚨 Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and is intended for educational purposes only. If you're in crisis or need therapy, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional.

Need to know how to find a great therapist? Read this...

What happens when your deepest wounds are intertwined with your body, your faith, and your sexuality—the very things intended to foster joy, life, and connection? Today, we're courageously confronting the silence surrounding sexual trauma within Christian spaces.

Tabitha Westbrook sits down with her friend & colleague, Colleen Ramser, to discuss her new book Body & Soul, Healed & Whole: An Invitational Guide to Healthy Sexuality After Trauma, Abuse, and Coercive Control.

In this episode, Colleen and Tabi discuss:

• Sexual trauma is widespread but rarely discussed in church settings, leaving many Christian women without language to process their experiences
• Purity culture has created harmful frameworks around sexuality, making women responsible for men's behavior and limiting honest conversations
• Understanding trauma responses like reenactments helps shift the question from "what is wrong with you?" to "what happened to you?"
• Scripture on marital sexuality has often been distorted, while true biblical intimacy involves mutual submission, consent, and honoring boundaries
• Healing involves breaking "curses and vows" formed during trauma and building new neural pathways aligned with God's truth
• Arousal templates developed during trauma explain why survivors may be drawn to harmful sexual patterns, but these can be rewired
• The book offers hope for both single and married Christians that sexual healing is possible regardless of relationship status

Find Body & Soul, Healed & Whole at all major retailers or visit tabithawestbrook.com for direct links to purchase the book.

Connect with Colleen Ramser here - https://colleenramser.com/

Wanna say hi? Send a text!

🎧 Subscribe to Hey Tabi for more expert conversations on trauma, faith, and healing.

Order Body & Soul, Healed & Whole: An Invitational Guide to Healthy Sexuality After Trauma, Abuse, and Coercive Control

📩 Connect with Tabitha:
💻 Tabitha's Website - www.tabithawestbrook.com
📲 Tabitha's Instagram - www.instagram.com/tabithathecounselor
🎙️ Podcast Homepage - https://heytabi.buzzsprout.com

💻 The Journey & The Process Website - www.thejourneyandtheprocess.com
📲 The Journey & The Process Instagram - www.instagram.com/_tjatp

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel & watch podcast episodes there

👍 If this episode resonated with you, please like, subscribe, and share to help others who need this information!

🚨 Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and is intended for educational purposes only. If you're in crisis or need therapy, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional.

Need to know how to find a great therapist? Read this...

Have you ever felt the weight of your story, but didn't know how to share it or if you even should share it? In this powerful episode, we explore the transformative approach of narrative-focused trauma care, also known as "story work." Discover how telling your story can rewrite your life, reclaim your identity, and heal the deep wounds of complex trauma.

🔑 In this episode, you'll learn:

• What Complex Trauma Is: Understand how chronic, repeated interpersonal experiences (like childhood abuse, spiritual abuse, coercive control, emotional neglect, and domestic violence) profoundly impact your emotional, physical, and relational health.
• The Power of Narrative-Focused Trauma Care ("Story Work"): Explore how engaging your story within compassionate and safe communities helps externalize trauma and rewrite internalized harmful narratives like shame and powerlessness.
• Practical Tips for Healing: Learn actionable ways to incorporate storytelling into your trauma recovery journey, including journaling prompts, creative expression, and integrating narrative therapy with approaches like EMDR, Brainspotting, and Somatic Experiencing.

🌿 Key Topics Covered:

• Defining complex trauma and its lifelong impact.
• How narrative therapy supports trauma healing and emotional regulation.
• Countering harmful narratives to reclaim your true identity.
• Benefits of combining story work with complementary trauma treatments.
• Real-life examples and practical storytelling tools to start your healing journey.

📚 Resources & Recommended Reading:

• Body & Soul, Healed & Whole by Tabitha Westbrook
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
• Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman
• Try Softer by Aundi Kolber
• The Allender Center

💡 Remember: Your trauma does not define you. Your story is yours to tell, rewrite, and reclaim. 💡

#ComplexTraumaRecovery #NarrativeTherapy #TraumaHealing #MentalHealthPodcast #St

Wanna say hi? Send a text!

🎧 Subscribe to Hey Tabi for more expert conversations on trauma, faith, and healing.

Order Body & Soul, Healed & Whole: An Invitational Guide to Healthy Sexuality After Trauma, Abuse, and Coercive Control

📩 Connect with Tabitha:
💻 Tabitha's Website - www.tabithawestbrook.com
📲 Tabitha's Instagram - www.instagram.com/tabithathecounselor
🎙️ Podcast Homepage - https://heytabi.buzzsprout.com

💻 The Journey & The Process Website - www.thejourneyandtheprocess.com
📲 The Journey & The Process Instagram - www.instagram.com/_tjatp

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel & watch podcast episodes there

👍 If this episode resonated with you, please like, subscribe, and share to help others who need this information!

🚨 Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and is intended for educational purposes only. If you're in crisis or need therapy, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional.

Need to know how to find a great therapist? Read this...

Reconnecting with our bodies after sexual trauma can feel impossible, but embodiment practices offer a genuine pathway to healing. In this transformative episode, trauma therapist Tabitha Westbrook unpacks why sexual assault survivors often disconnect from their bodies and how this protective mechanism eventually hinders recovery.

The statistics are sobering—one in five women experience sexual assault, usually by someone they trust. This violation creates a complex web of shame, self-blame, and confusion that leaves many survivors feeling at war with their own bodies. Tabitha compassionately explains how abusers—particularly those in positions of trust or spiritual authority—manipulate victims into believing they're responsible for their own abuse, further driving the wedge between survivors and their physical selves.

Drawing from both clinical expertise and personal experience, Tabitha guides listeners through accessible embodiment practices that can transform healing journeys. From grounding exercises that visualize being "rooted like a tree" to compassionate self-touch techniques and mindful movement, she offers practical tools for reconnection. These practices help survivors reclaim what was stolen: their sense of safety, autonomy, and bodily connection.

What makes this episode particularly powerful is Tabitha's honesty about the challenges of embodiment work. She acknowledges that memories or uncomfortable feelings may arise during practice—not as setbacks but as necessary steps in processing trauma. Her message that "progress, not perfection" matters resonates deeply for anyone who has struggled with trauma's physical aftermath.

Whether you're a survivor seeking healing or someone supporting a loved one through recovery, this episode provides both validation and practical wisdom. Join Tabitha's community by subscribing to the podcast and pre-ordering her forthcoming book "Body and Soul, Healed and Whole," available April 2025. Virtual healing groups are forming now—visit tabithawestbrook.com to learn how you can participate in this transformative work of reclaiming your relationship with your body.

Wanna say hi? Send a text!

🎧 Subscribe to Hey Tabi for more expert conversations on trauma, faith, and healing.

Order Body & Soul, Healed & Whole: An Invitational Guide to Healthy Sexuality After Trauma, Abuse, and Coercive Control

📩 Connect with Tabitha:
💻 Tabitha's Website - www.tabithawestbrook.com
📲 Tabitha's Instagram - www.instagram.com/tabithathecounselor
🎙️ Podcast Homepage - https://heytabi.buzzsprout.com

💻 The Journey & The Process Website - www.thejourneyandtheprocess.com
📲 The Journey & The Process Instagram - www.instagram.com/_tjatp

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel & watch podcast episodes there

👍 If this episode resonated with you, please like, subscribe, and share to help others who need this information!

🚨 Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and is intended for educational purposes only. If you're in crisis or need therapy, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional.

Need to know how to find a great therapist? Read this...

Welcome to Hey Tabi, the podcast where we talk about the hard things out loud—with our actual lips! In today's episode, we're diving deep into the essential but often challenging topic of finding healthy community after traumatic experiences and abuse. Whether you've experienced harm within a faith community, survived domestic abuse, or found yourself isolated after leaving an oppressive relationship, rebuilding healthy connections is crucial to your emotional and physical well-being.

Licensed trauma therapist Tabitha Westbrook shares insightful and practical steps on how to safely re-engage with community, set effective boundaries, and identify communities that genuinely support healing and recovery. Drawing from research and experiences detailed in her book, Body and Soul, Healed and Whole: An Invitational Guide to Healthy Sexuality After Trauma, Abuse, and Coercive Control, Tabitha guides listeners toward understanding what "safe enough" communities look like and how to create meaningful, diverse relationships across different stages of life.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why community is vital for healing from trauma and abuse.
• How to recognize safe and supportive environments.
• Strategies for overcoming isolation and reconnecting safely.
• Practical ways to set and maintain healthy boundaries.
• Encouragement and validation for your healing journey.

Tabitha’s compassionate, trauma-informed approach helps you navigate the complex process of finding community, emphasizing that progress, not perfection, is the goal.

#HeyTabiPodcast #CommunityHealing #TraumaRecovery #DomesticAbuseRecovery #HealingCommunity #MentalHealthMatters #ChurchHurt #CoerciveControl #TraumaTherapy #Boundaries #HealthyRelationships #IsolationToConnection #FaithAndTrauma #RecoveryJourney #MentalHealthAwareness #ComplexTrauma #ChristianMentalHealth #CommunityBuilding #AbuseRecovery #TabithaWestbrook #MentalWellness #SupportGroups #HealingAfterAbuse #ChristianCommunity #OvercomingIsolation

Wanna say hi? Send a text!

🎧 Subscribe to Hey Tabi for more expert conversations on trauma, faith, and healing.

Order Body & Soul, Healed & Whole: An Invitational Guide to Healthy Sexuality After Trauma, Abuse, and Coercive Control

📩 Connect with Tabitha:
💻 Tabitha's Website - www.tabithawestbrook.com
📲 Tabitha's Instagram - www.instagram.com/tabithathecounselor
🎙️ Podcast Homepage - https://heytabi.buzzsprout.com

💻 The Journey & The Process Website - www.thejourneyandtheprocess.com
📲 The Journey & The Process Instagram - www.instagram.com/_tjatp

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel & watch podcast episodes there

👍 If this episode resonated with you, please like, subscribe, and share to help others who need this information!

🚨 Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and is intended for educational purposes only. If you're in crisis or need therapy, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional.

Need to know how to find a great therapist? Read this...