Speaking
Honest, clinically grounded conversation for communities ready to go there.
I speak on trauma, shame, healing, and what happens when the belief systems we were handed stop working. For churches, conferences, retreats, and organizations that want more than inspiration.
What I Speak On
Everything I speak on grows out of the same territory: what happens when the frameworks we were handed stop working, and what becomes possible when we stop trying to force the old map onto new terrain.
I speak to churches watching their people quietly walk out the door and wanting to understand why. I speak to faith communities navigating deconstruction in their own congregations. I speak to mental health conferences on religious trauma, shame, and the neurobiology of belief. I speak to retreats and gatherings where people are ready for honest conversation rather than easy answers.
I don’t arrive with a canned talk. I want to understand your community, your context, and what you’re actually trying to accomplish before I walk in the room. Every engagement is built around your audience, your questions, and the moment your community is in.
Talk Topics
A Crisis of Maps
For churches, faith communities, and general audiences
What happens when the faith frameworks we inherit stop working and what’s possible on the other side? This talk is for communities watching people drift away and wanting language for why. It’s honest, clinically grounded, and theologically thoughtful. It leaves audiences with more than inspiration. It leaves them with a new way of seeing what’s happening around them.
When the Voice in Your Head Sounds Like God
On shame, identity, and learning to hear something different
One of the most common wounds I encounter clinically is the confusion between shame and conviction, between the voice that accuses and the voice that actually leads toward healing. This talk draws on clinical experience and doctoral research to explore how shame gets embedded in our belief systems, what it costs us, and what it takes to learn to hear something different. Appropriate for church congregations, retreat settings, and mental health audiences.
Faith, Trauma, and the Nervous System
For mental health professionals, pastoral counselors, and faith leaders
A clinically oriented presentation on the intersection of religious experience and trauma. How fear-based systems shape the nervous system, what attachment research tells us about the images of God we carry, and what trauma-informed care looks like in faith contexts. Available as a keynote or half-day training format.
I also speak on marriage, parenting, and family systems. If you have a specific need not listed here, reach out and let’s talk.
What to Expect When You Book Me
Speaking is some of the most energizing work I do. Every engagement begins with a real conversation about your community, your context, and what you’re actually trying to accomplish. From there we build something together that fits your audience rather than borrowing from a standard template.
I offer both in-person and virtual presentations and am available to travel nationally. Bulk book purchases can often be arranged as part of a speaking engagement. Many churches and organizations find this extends the conversation meaningfully beyond the event itself.
Credentials
PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy. Licensed Professional Counselor. Author of A Crisis of Maps. Someone who understands this territory from the inside, not just clinically.
Invite Me to Speak
If you’re interested in bringing me in for a speaking engagement, reach out through the link below or call the clinic directly. Tell me about your community, your event, and what you’re hoping the conversation will do.