Introducing Unburdened: A Support Group for Religious Trauma and LGBTQIA+ Healing

For a long time, I've wanted to build something that didn't exist yet in this community: a space where people who have been harmed by religious environments, particularly LGBTQIA+ individuals, could come together without having to explain themselves first.

That space now exists. It's called Unburdened, and it meets monthly at United Christian Church of Renton.

Why This Group Exists

If you've spent time in a high-control religious environment, you already know the particular kind of exhaustion that comes with it. Maybe you were taught that your sexual orientation or gender identity was a problem to be fixed. Maybe you learned to hide parts of yourself just to stay safe, or to stay welcome. Maybe you left, or were pushed out, and are still sorting through what that means for your relationships, your sense of self, and your body.

Religious trauma doesn't always look like what people expect. It isn't always dramatic. Sometimes it's quiet: a persistent sense of shame you can't quite name, a body that stays braced even when nothing is wrong, a grief for a community that also hurt you. All of that is real, and all of it deserves a space to be spoken.

I wanted to build that space here, in Renton, in a form that didn't require anyone to already have the language for what they'd been through.

What Unburdened Actually Is

Unburdened is a free, drop-in support group. That means:

• No registration. You don't need to sign up ahead of time or commit to attending regularly.

• No cost. This is offered at no charge, for as long as I can offer it.

• No fixed starting point. Each session stands on its own, so you can join for the first time in any given month and still get something real out of it.

• Clinician-led. I facilitate every session as a licensed mental health counselor, though this group itself is not individual therapy.

The group meets the first Sunday of every month, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, at United Christian Church of Renton, a congregation that is openly welcoming and affirming of the LGBTQIA+ community and thoughtful about neurodivergent inclusion as well.

Who This Group Is For

Unburdened is LGBTQIA+ focused, and it is open to anyone who has experienced harm from a religious environment or a high-control religious group, regardless of your sexual orientation, gender identity, current faith background, or whether you hold any faith at all. You don't need to identify as a survivor of anything in particular to be welcome here. You just need to show up as you are.

That's not a slogan. It's the actual premise of the group. There is no performance required, no correct belief to hold, and no particular stage of healing you need to have reached before it's okay to walk in the door.

What a Session Looks Like

Each session includes a short opening, a brief and accessible piece of psychoeducation on that month's theme, open discussion, and a closing grounding practice. Topics rotate through areas like naming religious trauma, the way trauma lives in the body, shame, grief, identity, anger and trust, meaning-making, and chosen community, among others. Because sessions are designed to stand alone, missing a month doesn't mean missing out on something you needed to have heard first.

An Honest Note About the First Meeting

Our very first session didn't have anyone attend. I want to be transparent about that, because I think it says more about how much courage it takes to walk into a room like this for the first time than it does about whether the group is needed. It is needed. If you've been circling the idea of coming, I hope you'll consider that the room will be there, and so will I.

How to Learn More

If you have questions, want to know more before attending, or just want to reach out, I'd love to hear from you.

Phone: 425-642-7116 Email: nick@nickerber-lapierre.com Church: uccrenton.org

You are welcome here, exactly as you are.

Nick Erber-LaPierre, PhD, LMHC Facilitator, Unburdened Core Faculty, Antioch University