Hi, I’m Jillian
I left a cult.
Now I help others heal from the systems that taught us to abandon ourselves.
From high-control religion to embodied recovery.
I know what it’s like to rebuild after spiritual harm—and I’m here to walk with you as you do the same.
I left the system that demanded self abandonment and now I help others reclaim their voice, body, and intuition.
I didn’t always have language for what I was going through.
But I knew how it felt—like something sacred was demanding my constant attention, consideration, and investigation. Every word, intention, action, and intuition was filtered through an external rubric.
As a graduate of Teen Mania’s Honor Academy, I was deeply immersed in a world of spiritual perfection, high-control leadership, and harmful theology masked as devotion. I considered it an honor to stay in line, deny myself, and silence anything that didn’t align with the mold I was handed.
Eventually, my system—body, mind, and spirit—refused to tolerate abandonment.
What followed was a long, often lonely process of untangling indoctrination, rebuilding self-trust, and discovering how to live from a place of embodied freedom. That work didn’t happen overnight. But it did happen. And it continues.
Now, it’s the foundation of everything I offer to others.
If you’re in that in-between place—questioning what you were taught, trying to reconnect with your own intuition, wondering what healing can look like after spiritual harm—I want you to know there’s a path forward.
Connection with yourself and healthy community is key.
At first impression, I often seem reserved—I typically observe before speaking. What began as a way to navigate family trauma eventually became one of my greatest strengths as a psychotherapist. Growing up, evangelical Christianity shaped my identity and worldview. It was this person—zealous and seeking truth—who walked into a religious cult, believing it was the path to spiritual fervor. At the time, I didn’t realize how much my faith affected my mental well-being, decisions, relationships, and sense of self.
Through life’s challenges and deep introspection, I began to unravel the harmful beliefs imposed by controlling systems. I redefined my relationship with those systems, but my passion for wisdom, freedom, and love has remained constant.
Today, I focus on helping others understand how their faith or religious background influences their inner world. I guide people to carve their own path, dismantling rigid narratives and exploring the nuanced spaces between extremes. Instead of offering another black-and-white perspective, I listen for what exists beyond dualism. I see how inherited trauma shapes reality, and I hold space for the full spectrum of your experiences, emotions, and beliefs.
Inspired by those who courageously embrace freedom, I aim to connect you with both your personal wisdom and the collective knowledge I’ve gained over a decade and a half of clinical work.
a bit about my journey
If you’ve been looking for support from someone who relates to the nuances of culty religious, political, and spiritual experiences,
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Degree
Liberty University (B.S.) degree with honors in Clinical Mental Health Psychology with a specialty in substance abuse and codependency.
Virginia Tech (M.A.Ed) degree with honors in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Licensure
State of Virginia Licensed Professional Counselor
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Experience
Jillian has worked in both child and adolescent settings along with university counseling and community organizations. In these settings, she has worked with clients to overcome and manage stress, anxiety, developmental transitions, depression, identity changes, relationship difficulties, trauma, addictions, and severe mental illness. Some of the settings that shaped Jillian’s experiences include: Carilion and Virginia Baptist’s child/adolescent psychiatric units, Jefferson College of Health Sciences, school counseling at a Roanoke Valley elementary school, sexual assault response advocacy programs, local foster care agency, community service board, group private practice center, and emergency services. Jillian is now full time in her established private practice and coaching businesses.
Specialization Training
Religious Abuse, Spiritual Trauma, Recovery from high control environments, Cults and Undo Influence, Identity and Sexuality, Obsessive compulsive religious fears, Codependency
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My coaching style is relational, collaborative, and rooted in the understanding that real change happens when you feel safe, seen, and in charge of your own process. I draw from somatic practices, parts work (like IFS), Acceptance and Commitment tools, and a trauma-informed understanding of the nervous system. Together, we’ll work at your pace—building awareness, choice, and deeper connection to yourself in a way that’s embodied, respectful, and empowering.
For over a decade, I practiced therapy rooted in compassion and truth. And as client after client shared their stories, I began to question the belief I had once held tightly—that we are inherently broken or evil. Their lives told a different story.
I started to see how fear had been used to control behavior, how spiritual bypassing disconnected people from their intuition, and how religious messaging moralized our disconnection from self.
So I began to pull apart the things that once held me together—and slowly, I started living in alignment with my embodied life.
That’s what led me to coaching.
From Cult Survivor to Integration Coach