We are delighted to present a FREE webinar with Dr Gill Harvey, Optima Presents: Dr Gill Harvey

What happens when the place that promised belonging becomes the place where fear, shame and control take root?

For many people raised within fundamentalist or high-demand religious environments, the impact does not end when they leave. It can live on in the body, in relationships, in identity, in the struggle to trust, and in the quiet question: Who am I allowed to be now?

Dr Gill Harvey brings rare depth, courage and compassion to this profoundly important area of therapeutic work.

A Senior Accredited member of the BACP, experienced psychotherapist, researcher and author, Gill has spent over twenty-five years supporting individuals and couples through complex emotional and relational difficulties. She has particular expertise in working with those affected by religious and spiritual abuse, coercive control, cultic environments and traumatic experiences within high-demand groups and relationships.

Her doctoral research explored the influence of fundamentalist religious upbringing on mental health and wellbeing in adulthood, giving voice to experiences that are too often misunderstood, minimised or left unnamed. That research now forms the basis of her book, Fundamentalist Religious Childhoods and Adult Mental Health and Wellbeing, published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Gill’s work sits at the powerful intersection of attachment, identity, faith, trauma and belonging. She understands that spiritual abuse is rarely only about belief. It can shape a person’s deepest sense of safety, worth, autonomy and connection. It can affect how they experience authority, intimacy, difference, doubt and even their own inner voice.

What makes Gill’s contribution so compelling is her ability to hold complexity without collapsing into simple answers. She creates space for the pain caused by harmful religious systems while respecting the continuing importance of faith and spirituality for many people. Her approach is thoughtful, relational and deeply humane.

Alongside her psychotherapy practice, Gill holds specialist training in post-cult counselling and is continuing her development in spiritual direction. Her writing has explored identity after spiritual abuse, power and control within religious environments, ostracism, bereavement, spirituality and mental wellbeing.

This Optima Presents event offers a rare opportunity to hear from a practitioner and scholar whose work helps us make sense of what happens when attachment, authority and spirituality become entangled with fear and control.

It will be especially valuable for therapists, counsellors, supervisors, clergy, spiritual directors and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of:

- the lifelong impact of fundamentalist religious childhoods;

- the dynamics of spiritual abuse and coercive control;

- shame, belonging and identity after leaving a high-demand environment;

- the relational consequences of fear-based belief systems;

- and the possibilities for recovery, integration and reclaiming the self.

Join us for an evening that promises to be intellectually rich, emotionally resonant and deeply relevant to contemporary therapeutic practice.

This is not only a conversation about religion. It is a conversation about power, belonging, attachment, identity and the courage it takes to become fully oneself.