Episode 21: Last Names, Spiritual Trauma and Guest Julia Schetky

Licensed professional counselors Johanna Dwinells and Sarah Bryski-Hamrick are slowly demystifying and destigmatizing therapy, one episode at a time. Recording and living in the Philadelphia area, Johanna and Sarah work to make therapy feel more accessible, with quirky, sometimes intrusive questions that reveal the human side of healthcare professionals, all while they overcome their own anxieties and internalized stigmas. 

TW: Spiritual Trauma 

Episode Note: We apologize for the audio issues in this episode. We hope you listen though, because this episode is extremely interesting and important to hear!

Episode summary: Johanna has too many cardigans. Sarah’s name is called incorrectly. They both discuss their graduation from grad school and the history of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Guest, Julia Schetky, talks about spiritual trauma, the toxicity of purity culture, how she works to heal spiritual and religious trauma.  

Guest Bio: Julia Schetky is a licensed mental health counselor associate, as well as a licensed social work associate independent clinician based out of Vancouver Washington.  She is a trained Psychedelic Assisted Therapist, as well as a Certified Trauma Specialist.  She specializes in working with trauma generally, and more specifically, spiritual trauma. She has extensive experience working with spiritual trauma in many contexts, both in and out of the counseling room. Julia came from a religious group that was abusive as well, which helps to inform her work.  

She works from the place that there is a difference in counseling between “all are welcome here” and “this was created with you in mind.” 

When she is not working, you can find her with her family, which now includes a nine-week-old puppy named Wilson. 

Sources for today’s History Lesson: “Jehovah’s Witness” by J. Gordon Melton

Resources: The Reclamation Collective; The Life After Podcast; #exchristian & #exJW on Instagram; “Terror, Love and Brainwashing: Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems” by Alexandra Stein; “Sacred Wounds: A Path to Healing from Spiritual Trauma” by Teresa B. Pasquale

Questions/comments/concerns? Want to be interviewed on TND podcast? 

Email us at therapistsnextdoor@gmail.com.

Follow us: 

IG: @tndpod

Twitter: @therapistsndpod

Do you want bonus features, including episodes, the ability to vote on what questions we ask our guests and ad-free episodes (fingers crossed)? Do you want to help support us as we demystify and destigmatize mental health? Visit our Patreon: 

patreon.com/tndpodcast

Or visit our website: 

tndpodcast.com