Religious trauma syndrome (RTS) is recognized in psychology[citation needed] and psychotherapy[citation needed] as a set of symptoms, ranging in severity, experienced by those who have participated in or left behind authoritarian, dogmatic, and controlling religious groups and belief systems.[1] Symptoms include cognitive, affective, functional, and social/cultural issues as well as developmental delays.[2]
RTS occurs in response to two-fold trauma: first, the prolonged abuse of indoctrination from a controlling religious community, and second, the act of leaving the controlling religious community.[2] RTS has developed as its own heuristic collection of symptoms informed by psychological theories of trauma originating in PTSD, C-PTSD and betrayal trauma theory, taking relational and social context into account when approaching further research and treatment.
The term "religious trauma syndrome" was coined in 2011 by psychologist Marlene Winell in an article for the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies. However, the phenomenon was recognized long before that. The term has circulated among psychotherapists, former fundamentalists, and others recovering from religious indoctrination.[1][3] Winell explains the need for a label and the benefits of naming the symptoms encompassed by RTS as similar to naming anorexia as a disorder: the label can lessen shame and isolation for survivors while promoting diagnosis, treatment, and training for professionals who work with those suffering from the condition.[4] Survivors report relief when they find out that RTS is "real.
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