Leaving religion can come at a high personal cost – not only socially or culturally, but mentally and emotionally. Yet the psychological impact of religious trauma and deconversion remains one of the most overlooked issues in mainstream mental health discourse.
This year’s Faith to Faithless Apostasy Conference will bring together therapists, academics, and lived-experience voices to explore the mental health impacts of religious exit, with a focus on high-commitment religious groups and coercive faith-based environments.
From identity loss to family shunning, internalised fear to isolation, this one-day event will offer deep insight into what it means to leave faith behind — and what support looks like in the aftermath.
Whether you’re a mental health professional, a frontline worker, a researcher, or someone with lived experience of religious trauma, this conference offers space to listen, learn, and connect.
Speakers
Dr Darrel Ray (Keynote Speaker)
Recovering from Religion: Reclaiming Identity and Building a Secular Life
Dr Ray is a psychologist, consultant and lifelong student of religion and sexuality. He holds a BA in Sociology/Anthropology and an MA in Religion, and completed his doctorate in counselling psychology at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. In 2009, he founded Recovering from Religion, and in 2012 launched the Secular Therapy Project, which connects thousands of people worldwide to evidence-based, non-religious counselling.
He has spoken at conferences across the world and appeared on major platforms including The Atheist Experience, The Thinking Atheist, ABC News (US and Australia), and more. His research on sex and secularism has been featured in Playboy Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and the Daily Mail.
Dr Ray brings both clinical understanding and warm, lived insight into what helps people recover emotionally, sexually, and socially after religious exit.
Dr Savin Bapir-Tardy
The Cost of Belief: Trauma, Loss and Liberation After Leaving Faith
Leaving a religion, especially one that shapes your identity, relationships, and sense of right and wrong, can be emotionally overwhelming. This talk explores what it’s like to leave high-control religions, or to be shunned for no longer believing or for questioning religious teachings. There will be a strong focus on the experiences of ex-Muslims, whose stories are often underrepresented and misunderstood. Drawing on real-life experiences and insights from psychological therapy, the talk will explore common challenges such as shame, fear, loss of community, family rejection, and the difficult process of rebuilding a sense of self. It will also highlight the unique pressures faced by ex-Muslims, including social isolation and internalised fear, and offer reflections on what healing, hope, and personal freedom can look like after religious exit.
Dr Savin Bapir‑Tardy is a Chartered Counselling Psychologist, Senior Lecturer, and trauma specialist with over 17 years of clinical and research experience. Based in London, she has worked with clients affected by anxiety, depression, betrayal trauma, ‘honour’-based violence, forced marriage, FGM, and religious trauma. Since 2020, she has facilitated monthly support groups for the Council of Ex‑Muslims of Britain.
Dr Bapir‑Tardy’s research focuses on the psychological impacts of shunning and coercive control within high-control groups. She has co-authored qualitative studies on religious exit and shunning and co-leads a five-year Roehampton University project aimed at informing policy and legal frameworks around mandated shunning.
Dr Travis McKie-Voerste
Sanctified Harm: The Costs of Religious Assumptions in Therapy
Dr. Travis McKie-Voerste is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Dalton State College in Georgia, USA, where he teaches clinically focused courses in counseling, psychological adjustment, and the psychology of religion. He is also Director of the Secular Therapy Project, an international network connecting clients with evidence-based, non-religious therapists — a platform particularly vital for individuals recovering from religious trauma or navigating life after deconversion.
His research and clinical work focus on how religiosity and counselor belief systems influence therapeutic outcomes. His doctoral dissertation explored the experiences of atheists receiving counselling in the conservative US South, and he now specialises in training culturally competent clinicians to serve secular and ex-religious clients with care and ethical clarity.
Dr Gillie Jenkinson
Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive Religious Abuse: A therapeutic model for recovery and growth
In this talk Dr Jenkinson will explore what helps people recover from such abuse, drawing from her personal experience, clinical work and research.
Dr Jenkinson is an accredited psychotherapist in the UK with nearly 30 years’ experience, specialising in the harm caused by religious groups, coercive control and closed communities. She is an international speaker on the subject, trains mental health professionals and is a published author. Her book ‘Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse: A Workbook for Recovery and Growth’ was published by Routledge in May 2023. She was recently involved in a BBC documentary ‘Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army’ where she was filmed delivering ‘post cult counselling’ to four former members.
Alexander Barnes-Ross
Scientology and Anti-Psychiatry
Alexander Barnes-Ross is an ex-Scientologist, whistleblower and activist who has been the target of harassment since leaving and speaking out against abuse within his former Church. Scientology’s belief is that psychiatry is the root cause of all evil. Members are forbidden from seeking mental health or psychiatric support, and are punished for doing so. Barnes-Ross will speak about his personal experiences and mental health challenges during his time in, and since leaving Scientology.
Philippa Barnes
Healing after the Jesus Army
Philippa is a former member of the Jesus Army, who grew up living as part of a commune within the Evangelical cultic group that was later disbanded after it was discovered that one in six children had been sexually abused within the church. Philippa set up a support group for former members called the Jesus Fellowship Survivors Association, and featured in the recent BBC documentary 'Inside the cult of the Jesus Army.'
What to expect
✔️ Insightful talks from psychologists, researchers, and practitioners
✔️ Panel discussions with therapists working directly with the ex-religious
✔️ Lived experience stories, reflections, and real-world strategies
✔️ Opportunities to connect with others in this vital and growing field
✔️ Professional learning for those in health, social care, and education
Venue & accessibility
📍 Covent Garden, London (fully accessible venue)
🕘 Doors open at 09:15 | Event ends by 16:45
☕ Refreshments and lunch included
🪑 Step-free access via a lift, accessible toilets, quiet space available