Instructors

Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv

Email

rclinton@theseattleschool.edu
Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv, is a trauma care practitioner, pastoral leader, and lead instructor with the Allender Center at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. Her work focuses on spiritual abuse, trauma, healing, embodiment, and spiritual formation, and she helped develop the Allender Center’s Spiritual Abuse & Healing online course. Rachael holds a Master of Divinity from The Seattle School and was named by Sojourners as one of “9 Christian Women Shaping the Church in 2024.”

Vanessa Sadler, BS

Email

vanessa@abidinginstory.com
Vanessa Sadler, BS, is a trauma-informed story practitioner, spiritual director, and principal instructor with the Allender Center. Her work sits at the intersection of spiritual abuse, sexual abuse, racial trauma, and spiritual formation, drawing on Narrative Focused Trauma Care® and contemplative practice. Vanessa is also trained in spiritual direction and has spent nearly a decade creating spaces for healing, reflection, and embodied care.

Engaging Spiritual Abuse for Christian Leaders

Learn how to recognize spiritual harm, respond with greater care, and become a safer presence for the people you serve.

Online

Session One: February 10, 2027

Session Two: May 19, 2027

Time: 9AM-11AM (PT)

All Levels

Day of Week: Wednesday

Capacity: 16 Seats

Topic: Leadership Development

6 Sessions

Early Bird Member Price: $331.29

Early Bird Non-Member Price: $368.10

Number of CEUs Available: 12

Online
All Levels

6 Sessions

Topic: Leadership Development

Start Date: February 10, 2027

End Date: May 19, 2027

Time: 9AM-11AM (PT)

Day of Week: Wednesday

Capacity: 16 Seats

Early Bird Member Price: $331.29

Early Bird Non-Member Price: $368.10

Number of CEUs Available: 12

Engaging Spiritual Abuse for Christian Leaders

Learn how to recognize spiritual harm, respond with greater care, and become a safer presence for the people you serve.

Someone tells you they were harmed by a church, spiritual leader, or faith community.

What happens next matters.

Spiritual abuse can be difficult to recognize, especially when harm is wrapped in good intentions, theological language, loyalty, authority, or a desire to protect the community.

Engaging Spiritual Abuse for Christian Leaders is a six-session live cohort for pastors, chaplains, counselors, and ministry leaders who want to better understand spiritual abuse, recognize how it operates in people and systems, and respond with greater wisdom, care, and integrity.

Spiritual Harm Is Not Only an Individual Problem

Spiritual abuse does not happen in a vacuum.

It can be shaped by family patterns, organizational culture, community expectations, power dynamics, secrecy, belonging, obedience, and the ways theology is used.

That means responding well requires more than identifying one harmful person or behavior.

This course invites leaders to look at both the wound and the system around it.

You will explore how spiritual abuse affects the body, imagination, relationships, faith, and sense of self, while also examining the environments that allow harm to take root or continue.

What You Will Explore

Recognizing Spiritual Abuse

Develop clearer language for identifying the nature, tools, and forms of spiritual abuse, including the ways it can operate inside well-intentioned systems.

How Harm Gets Set Up

Explore how family of origin, culture, community, authority, belonging, and obedience can shape vulnerability and complicity.

Learn to notice the dynamics that make spiritual harm possible before they become normalized.

The Impact of Spiritual Abuse

Examine how spiritual abuse can affect the body, imagination, relationships, attachment, agency, and a person’s experience of God.

You will also consider how these effects can show up in the people you serve and in your own story.

Trauma Responses and Embodied Awareness

Learn to recognize common trauma responses and practice grounding tools that can help you stay present with difficult material without becoming overwhelmed or defensive.

Healing and Repair

Explore what healing can involve, including reclaiming personhood, agency, attachment, and spiritual imagination.

Consider why healing cannot be rushed and why forgiveness or reconciliation should not be used to bypass harm.

Safer Leadership and Healthier Systems

Learn how to discern between healthy and harmful uses of spiritual authority and identify concrete ways to become a safer, more trustworthy presence in your ministry context.

This Course Is for You If…

Someone has disclosed spiritual harm to you and you are unsure how to respond.

You are beginning to recognize harmful patterns in a church, ministry, or organization.

You want to better understand how abuse of power can be sustained by systems, not only individuals.

You are concerned about unintentionally repeating harmful dynamics in your own leadership.

You want practical tools for responding to trauma with greater care.

Or you are trying to hold accountability and compassion together without minimizing harm or becoming defensive.

This course is designed for clergy, chaplains, pastoral caregivers, counselors, and ministry leaders with a wide range of experience.

A Live Cohort for Integration and Reflection

This six-session cohort accompanies the Allender Center’s Spiritual Abuse & Healing online course and is rooted in a Narrative Focused Trauma Care® approach.

Each session includes teaching, discussion, reflection, and opportunities to connect the material to your own context.

You will be invited to consider how the content intersects with your own story, whether you have experienced harm, witnessed it, or participated in systems where harm occurred.

You always choose your own level of sharing.

There are also two optional opportunities to explore a story of harm in the style of Narrative Focused Trauma Care®.

What You Can Take Back Into Your Leadership

By the end of the course, you will be better equipped to:

  • Recognize how spiritual abuse operates in individuals and systems
  • Understand how culture, family, and power shape vulnerability and complicity
  • Identify the impact of spiritual abuse on body, imagination, and relationships
  • Read trauma responses with greater awareness
  • Use embodied grounding practices when difficult material arises
  • Honor the pace of healing rather than rushing toward reconciliation
  • Become a safer, more trustworthy presence for people who have been harmed
  • Discern healthy and harmful uses of spiritual authority
  • Identify concrete next steps for your leadership, team, or ministry context

Good Intentions Are Not Enough

Leaders can care deeply about people and still participate in systems that cause harm.

The goal of this course is not shame.

It is greater awareness, greater capacity for care, and greater courage to look honestly at the systems and practices that shape spiritual life.

When leaders are willing to name harm clearly, listen carefully, and examine their own use of power, new possibilities for healing and repair can begin.

This course will be held on the following days:

  1. Session One – Wednesday, February 10th
  2. Session Two – Wednesday, March 3rd
  3. Session Three – Wednesday, March 31st
  4. Session Four – Wednesday, April 21st
  5. Session Five – Wednesday, May 5th
  6. Session Six – Wednesday, May 19th

Enroll in the Class

Instructors

Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv

Email

rclinton@theseattleschool.edu
Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv, is a trauma care practitioner, pastoral leader, and lead instructor with the Allender Center at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. Her work focuses on spiritual abuse, trauma, healing, embodiment, and spiritual formation, and she helped develop the Allender Center’s Spiritual Abuse & Healing online course. Rachael holds a Master of Divinity from The Seattle School and was named by Sojourners as one of “9 Christian Women Shaping the Church in 2024.”

Vanessa Sadler, BS

Email

vanessa@abidinginstory.com
Vanessa Sadler, BS, is a trauma-informed story practitioner, spiritual director, and principal instructor with the Allender Center. Her work sits at the intersection of spiritual abuse, sexual abuse, racial trauma, and spiritual formation, drawing on Narrative Focused Trauma Care® and contemplative practice. Vanessa is also trained in spiritual direction and has spent nearly a decade creating spaces for healing, reflection, and embodied care.

FAQS ↓

Find all FAQs here.

Why should I become a member?

Members get to register for classes early – a full week before they open to the general public! Plus, members receive a 10% discount on all events and classes and access to value-add content in their inboxes throughout the year. To become a member, you can sign up here, or purchase a membership when you buy your class.

What kind of help in payment is available?

We offer discounts of up to 50% to clergy, staff, and lay ministry leaders of our official partners, which includes the Olympia Presbytery, the Northwest Coast Presbytery, and the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia. Partnerships have no financial cost, and are available with (a) regional or national denominations), (b) multi-site churches, or ( c) large nonprofit organizations. If you would like to encourage your organization to become a partner, please email your regional leader to let them know! You can even introduce them to us by cc’ing transforming@theseattleschool.edu, and we’ll put them in touch with the right person for next steps.

Early bird discounts are available during the first week of registration.

Becoming a member costs offers 10% on all classes and events for a full year. Often, just one class is enough to make the membership cost worth it.

If you pastor with a denomination, you may have resources for professional development. Check with your regional supervisor for more information on funds available.

What are the community guidelines?

Please see the full community guidelines on this page. If an instance of community guidelines are violated and cannot be resolved within the class, participants may let us know by emailing us transforming@theseattleschool.edu and we will direct you to The Seattle School’s incident report form.

What happens if my class is cancelled?

If the Center cancels an offering for any reason, all participants will receive a full refund of registration fees.

If a program is rescheduled, participants may choose to transfer their registration to the new date or receive a full refund.

How do I request a refund?

Refunds are available according to the following schedule:

  • 60+ days before the program start date: 75% refund
  • 30–59 days before the program start date: 50% refund
  • Less than 30 days before the program start date: no refund

If you need to cancel your registration, please email transforming@theseattleschool.edu and include your name and the course title.

If the Center cancels a program, all participants will receive a full refund of registration fees. If a program is rescheduled, participants may choose to transfer their registration to the new date or receive a full refund.

How do I contact technical support?

Technology should not be the hardest part of your learning experience. If you encounter errors in the catalog, problems with payment, or difficulty accessing course materials, please let us know. You can find the technical support form here. We try to respond within 48 hours (business days only).

Full attendance and participation during all sessions are expected to complete the program.
Terms / Conditions. By registering for a Resilience or Leaders Circle, you agree to the following (scroll down and click agree)
Please consider the schedule closely to ensure you will be able to participate in the virtual meetings, and block off your calendar to ensure your attendance. Should you have an emergency (illness, situations out of your control) that will impact your participation please email transforming@theseattleschool.edu
Time commitment:
Two hours one day per month for 8 months, dates to be determined by majority of registrants' availability and adjusted as needed during the first group meeting.
Your feedback is immensely valuable!
As an essential component of your participation in this program, we ask that you provide us with your honest, candid, and timely feedback in program surveys and conversations, and consider providing reviews or testimonials of the program for promotional use.
Code of Conduct:
The Center for Transforming Engagement strives for intentionality in the ways we relate to one another - how we as a team relate to each other, how we relate to participants, and how we hope participants will relate to us and one another. To that end, we hold cultural norms about the ways we interact with one another. Your participation in this program is contingent on your agreement to abide by these cultural norms. i. For growth to happen, we all need to be able to share about the deeper challenges we face. To provide that atmosphere of openness and support, you commit to not sharing personal information that is shared in program meetings. ii. In our interactions with each other and our communities, we practice the humility of not-knowing that is required to listen and discover. iii. Be aware of different cultural and characterological ways of communicating, and invite others’ voices. Respect theological differences: the river of Christian orthodoxy is wide, and while the streams of that river are distinct, they are not inherently better or worse. Even if you can’t respect the belief, treat the person with respect. iiii. We value both thoughts and feelings as valuable pieces of information that inform one another, and inform our learning and discerning together. iv. Be in the here and now (not mentally somewhere or some time else), with the people who are sharing their time and stories with you. Eliminate any distractions possible.
Fair Use Policy
All program content, recordings, and materials are the intellectual property of The Seattle School and may not be presented, distributed, or replicated. The Seattle School retains the copyright for all recorded content. Some print materials (PDFs, worksheets, journal prompts, etc.) will be licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike. Those materials will be available for download on our website, and may be used as long as the following conditions are met: (1) attribute to the Center for Transforming Engagement even if remixed/modified; (2) do not use for commercial (paid) purposes; and (3) anything you make that remixes or builds upon this material, you must also distribute under Creative Commons. More information on this license is available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Agree and Close
(scroll down and click agree) Full attendance and participation during all sessions are expected to complete the program. Please consider the schedule closely to ensure you will be able to participate in the virtual meetings, and block off your calendar to ensure your attendance. Should you have an emergency (illness, situations out of your control) that will impact your participation please email transforming@theseattleschool.edu Time commitment: Two hours one day per month for 8 months, dates to be determined by majority of registrants' availability and adjusted as needed during the first group meeting. Your feedback is immensely valuable! As an essential component of your participation in this program, we ask that you provide us with your honest, candid, and timely feedback in program surveys and conversations, and consider providing reviews or testimonials of the program for promotional use. 2. Code of Conduct The Center for Transforming Engagement strives for intentionality in the ways we relate to one another - how we as a team relate to each other, how we relate to participants, and how we hope participants will relate to us and one another. To that end, we hold cultural norms about the ways we interact with one another. Your participation in this program is contingent on your agreement to abide by these cultural norms. Confidentiality. For growth to happen, we all need to be able to share about the deeper challenges we face. To provide that atmosphere of openness and support, you commit to not sharing personal information that is shared in program meetings. Curiosity. In our interactions with each other and our communities, we practice the humility of not-knowing that is required to listen and discover. Respect differences. Be aware of different cultural and characterological ways of communicating, and invite others’ voices. Respect theological differences: the river of Christian orthodoxy is wide, and while the streams of that river are distinct, they are not inherently better or worse. Even if you can’t respect the belief, treat the person with respect. You are invited to be a whole person, with both thoughts and feelings. We value both thoughts and feelings as valuable pieces of information that inform one another, and inform our learning and discerning together. Presence. Be in the here and now (not mentally somewhere or some time else), with the people who are sharing their time and stories with you. Eliminate any distractions possible. 3. Fair Use Policy All program content, recordings, and materials are the intellectual property of The Seattle School and may not be presented, distributed, or replicated. The Seattle School retains the copyright for all recorded content. Some print materials (PDFs, worksheets, journal prompts, etc.) will be licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike. Those materials will be available for download on our website, and may be used as long as the following conditions are met: (1) attribute to the Center for Transforming Engagement even if remixed/modified; (2) do not use for commercial (paid) purposes; and (3) anything you make that remixes or builds upon this material, you must also distribute under Creative Commons. More information on this license is available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Agree and Close
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Lina Thompson is the lead Pastor at Lake Burien Presbyterian Church. Her primary vocation and call is the formation of leaders who love and serve their city and seek its peace.
Lina Thompson is the lead Pastor at Lake Burien Presbyterian Church. Her primary vocation and call is the formation of leaders who love and serve their city and seek its peace.
Silas Sham is the Lead Pastor of Bethany Community Church Northeast in Seattle and holds a Doctor of Ministry in Semiotics, Church, and Culture from Portland Seminary. His research explores how food can form and reflect theological imagination. He created Theology on a Plate, a gamified discipleship experience that brings people around the table to taste, tell, and practice the story of God. His work has been published through the Society of Biblical Literature and in various theological and ministry journals, and he believes the best theology is lived, savored, and shared in community to nourish all of creation.
Silas Sham is the Lead Pastor of Bethany Community Church Northeast in Seattle and holds a Doctor of Ministry in Semiotics, Church, and Culture from Portland Seminary. His research explores how food can form and reflect theological imagination. He created Theology on a Plate, a gamified discipleship experience that brings people around the table to taste, tell, and practice the story of God. His work has been published through the Society of Biblical Literature and in various theological and ministry journals, and he believes the best theology is lived, savored, and shared in community to nourish all of creation.
Rev. Danielle Merseles is the current Associate Pastor of Youth and Young Adults at Bethany Presbyterian Church, Seattle. After an unexpected yes to volunteering in youth ministry back in 2011, Danielle eventually enrolled in seminary at Seattle Pacific, did a unit of chaplaincy at Harborview, and became ordained in the PC(USA). She loves regularly teaching and learning from people younger than her and has been called to Bethany for nearly 10 years now. She is a New Jersey native, Tulane University School of Architecture graduate, hobby potter, loves being auntie/godmother to her friends small people, and has called Seattle home since 2007.
Rev. Danielle Merseles is the current Associate Pastor of Youth and Young Adults at Bethany Presbyterian Church, Seattle. After an unexpected yes to volunteering in youth ministry back in 2011, Danielle eventually enrolled in seminary at Seattle Pacific, did a unit of chaplaincy at Harborview, and became ordained in the PC(USA). She loves regularly teaching and learning from people younger than her and has been called to Bethany for nearly 10 years now. She is a New Jersey native, Tulane University School of Architecture graduate, hobby potter, loves being auntie/godmother to her friends small people, and has called Seattle home since 2007.
Jessica became disabled as a young adult and has worked for accessibility and inclusion specifically in third places for over 20 years. Coming to the Episcopal Church after experiencing religious trauma from “faith healing,” Jessica feels called to break down barriers, both physical as well as spiritual by addressing the harmful theologies and behaviors that have shown disabled people that “we are not welcome as the Beloved People God created us to be.” She is blogger, speaker, and consultant for Bridge Disability Ministries.
Jessica became disabled as a young adult and has worked for accessibility and inclusion specifically in third places for over 20 years. Coming to the Episcopal Church after experiencing religious trauma from “faith healing,” Jessica feels called to break down barriers, both physical as well as spiritual by addressing the harmful theologies and behaviors that have shown disabled people that “we are not welcome as the Beloved People God created us to be.” She is blogger, speaker, and consultant for Bridge Disability Ministries.
The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade is the Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary in Lexington, Kentucky, and served as the President of the Academy of Homiletics in 2024. An ordained Lutheran minister (ELCA) for nearly twenty-five years, Leah earned both her MDiv and PhD degrees from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary). She has pastored congregations in suburban, urban, and rural contexts. She is the author of seven books, including Preaching and Social Issues: Tools and Tactics for Empowering Your Prophetic Voice (Rowman & Littlefield, 2025), and Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019).
The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade is the Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary in Lexington, Kentucky, and served as the President of the Academy of Homiletics in 2024. An ordained Lutheran minister (ELCA) for nearly twenty-five years, Leah earned both her MDiv and PhD degrees from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary). She has pastored congregations in suburban, urban, and rural contexts. She is the author of seven books, including Preaching and Social Issues: Tools and Tactics for Empowering Your Prophetic Voice (Rowman & Littlefield, 2025), and Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019).
The Rev. Natalie "Nat" Johnson serves as Priest in Charge at St Peter's, a diverse and multi-ethnic Episcopal parish in Seattle WA. Over the last five years, Rev. Nat has served on the Diocese of Olympia's Commission on Ministry, walking with individuals sensing a call to ordained ministry. They also currently serve as Affiliated Faculty at Church Divinity School of the Pacific where they teach Liturgical Theology to seminarians preparing for the priesthood in the Episcopal Church.
The Rev. Natalie "Nat" Johnson serves as Priest in Charge at St Peter's, a diverse and multi-ethnic Episcopal parish in Seattle WA. Over the last five years, Rev. Nat has served on the Diocese of Olympia's Commission on Ministry, walking with individuals sensing a call to ordained ministry. They also currently serve as Affiliated Faculty at Church Divinity School of the Pacific where they teach Liturgical Theology to seminarians preparing for the priesthood in the Episcopal Church.
Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow is a 3rd Generation Filipino/Chinese American and an active speaker, writer, and coachsultant. His writing, teaching, and speaking have taken him to Australia, The Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, and across the United States as he addresses topics of faith, leadership, activism, culture, race, and technology. Author of six books, most recently, In Defense of Kindness: Why It Matters, How It Changes Our Lives, and How It Can Save the World (Chalice Press, 2021) Everything Good about God is True: Choosing Faith (Broadleaf Books, 2024). Bruce also has a broad online video and audio presence but writes and podcasts through his Newsletter & Podcast, The Amalgamation. Bruce has been an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) since 1995 and has pastored seven congregations throughout California. In 2008, he was elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA, the youngest and first Asian American to hold the denomination’s highest elected office. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, works with Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center to lead delegations to Palestine, is a Senior Consultant and Coach with Convergence, is a Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, and is the Church Relations and Development Officer at Zephyr Point Conference Center. Bruce and his wife, Robin, have three adult children, two senior pups, too many houseplants, and a thriving empty-nester life in San Jose, CA.
Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow is a 3rd Generation Filipino/Chinese American and an active speaker, writer, and coachsultant. His writing, teaching, and speaking have taken him to Australia, The Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, and across the United States as he addresses topics of faith, leadership, activism, culture, race, and technology. Author of six books, most recently, In Defense of Kindness: Why It Matters, How It Changes Our Lives, and How It Can Save the World (Chalice Press, 2021) Everything Good about God is True: Choosing Faith (Broadleaf Books, 2024). Bruce also has a broad online video and audio presence but writes and podcasts through his Newsletter & Podcast, The Amalgamation. Bruce has been an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) since 1995 and has pastored seven congregations throughout California. In 2008, he was elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA, the youngest and first Asian American to hold the denomination’s highest elected office. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, works with Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center to lead delegations to Palestine, is a Senior Consultant and Coach with Convergence, is a Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, and is the Church Relations and Development Officer at Zephyr Point Conference Center. Bruce and his wife, Robin, have three adult children, two senior pups, too many houseplants, and a thriving empty-nester life in San Jose, CA.
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