CORT 2023: Claire Alison Hams - Jehovah’s Witnesses, my Personal and Professional Perspectives

CORT 2023: Claire Alison Hams - Jehovah’s Witnesses, my Personal and Professional Perspectives Within this session Claire will explore who the people are who knock on your doors, stand idly by magazine carts, and post on social media using hashtag #bestlifeever, the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Claire was born to Jehovah's Witness parents and raised with a view that Armageddon was 'just around the corner'. Leaving in her 30s, she has spent the past several years training as a Counsellor, and embarking on understanding the complexities of recovery, as an adult, from high control. Claire has trained with Dr Gillie Jenkinson in her post cult recovery model of therapy and works with ex member of cultic dynamics, supporting them to unravel the layers of indoctrination. Claire also has an active role in the ex-JW support community in the UK. Within this presentation Claire will shed light on this small but powerful high control religious organisation and the devestation it causes to families with its practice of shunning, but also, how building a healthy new life after leaving is possible Claire Alison Hams Psychodynamic and Relational Counsellor Claire Alison Hams is based in UK and is a psychodynamic and relational counsellor with a first degree in Counselling with the University of Greenwich and an advanced diploma in psychodynamic counselling. She is currently doing doctoral research with the University of Chester exploring second and multi-generation ex-Jehovah's Witness recovery. Claire has lived experience of being born in and growing up as a Jehovah's Witness. She left as an adult and recognises the unique form of grief that comes with the process of leaving and restarting a life outside religion. Wanting to equip herself with the specific understanding to enable her to work in an informed way with former cult members, Claire trained as a post-cult counsellor with Dr Gillie Jenkinson using a post-cult counselling workbook for recovery and growth. She now works with former members and survivors of cultic groups and relationships including spiritual abuse, religious trauma, various types of undue influence, coercive control and partner abuse. Her website is: https://clairealisonhams.com A Specialized Approach to Religious Recovery: Religious trauma can occur in various settings – mainstream religion, fringe religious groups and coercive religious cults. Many survivors of religious trauma report that therapists do not understand their issues and may overlook them altogether. In response to this need Gillie Jenkinson conducted research into ‘what helps’ survivors recover. Her findings, alongside her clinical practice and two internships at Wellspring Retreat and Resource Centre led her to develop an approach she has called ‘Post-Cult Counselling’ (PCC). PCC has been evidenced to be an effective approach to working with survivors. Gillie has trained two cohorts to deliver PCC on the Certificate in Post-Cult Counselling and Jennifer French and Claire Alison Hams, were two of them. In this talk we will introduce and discuss PCC - a specialised approach to religious recovery – from our different perspectives including delivering PCC as a Recovery Workshop. More about CORT: https://www.religioustraumaconference... Early Bird tickets are now available for the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture conference, happening LIVE in Seattle May 23-25, 2025! Get yours now: https://www.shamelesssexuality.org/ Purity Culture Survivor Support Group is happening on Thursdays at 5pm Pacific. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with others for healing and support: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/se... Need help on your journey of healing from Religious Trauma? Book a free 20-minute consultation with Janice here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/se... When you Support this channel by joining our YouTube membership (starting as low as $3/month) you'll get early access to all of our new content, access to badges and special chat emojis and more. Every dollar helps so sign up to be a member today by clicking "Join" under the video. Grab your CORT merch here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/co... If you are struggling with the symptoms of Religious Trauma Syndrome, sign up for the Divorcing Religion Workshop or one-on-one counselling with Janice Selbie, the founder of CORT: https://www.divorcing-religion.com Follow CORT:   / divorcingreligion   Follow Janice Selbie:   / conferenceonreligioustrauma   https://www.threads.net/@wisecounsellor   / janiceselbie   Video by https://www.porthosmedia.net