Elisha's Space: Counseling and Authentic Conversations on Healing

Have you ever walked out of a church service feeling smaller than when you walked in? In this episode, counselor and author Elisha walks through 7 warning signs of spiritual abuse in church leadership — the subtle, easy-to-rationalize signs that most people miss until significant harm has already been done. We cover what clinical psychology calls "religious trauma syndrome," the mechanics of spiri...

Have you ever sat in church — or alone in prayer — and wondered: Is this the Holy Spirit, or is this my anxiety? If your nervous system has been shaped by religious trauma, shame-based teaching, or environments where God was presented as a source of fear rather than safety, you may have spent years confusing survival mode with spiritual conviction. In this episode, counselor and author Elisha walk...

Do you walk into a church and feel your chest tighten? Do certain phrases make you flinch — even now? You might be experiencing religious trauma. In this episode, Elisha — a licensed counselor, author, and founder of Restoring You Christian Counseling — breaks down the 5 signs she looks for in her practice when assessing for religious trauma and religious trauma syndrome. This isn't about leaving...

Something hurt you inside the church — but you can't quite name it. In this episode, we go layer by layer through the Spiritual Iceberg: from visible spiritual abuse and purity culture wounds, all the way down to generational spiritual trauma and identity dissolution. If you've ever left a faith community carrying something you couldn't explain, or if you're still inside one and something feels wr...

What does spiritual abuse actually do — not theologically, but biologically — to the human body and brain? In this documentary-style episode, counselor and author Elisha breaks down the neuroscience and physiology of religious trauma: how the HPA axis becomes dysregulated, how chronic spiritual abuse physically alters brain structure, and why so many survivors are sitting in doctors' offices with...

What does your sleep position reveal about your nervous system? In this episode of Elisha's Space, counselor and author Elisha walks through five sleep positions and what each one says about your body's trauma response, nervous system state, and capacity for rest. Using principles from polyvagal theory, somatic counseling, and Christian faith, this episode offers both clinical insight and spiritua...

Are you living with trauma that shows up in your body — shaking hands, a tight chest, trembling you can't explain or control? In this episode, counselor and author Elisha breaks down the neurological reason your body shakes after trauma — and gives you a three-step somatic reset you can use today. 🔑 In this episode: Why the shaking is not a sign something is wrong with you How polyvagal theory ex...

What if the answer to anxiety wasn't in your mind — but in your body? In this episode of Elisha's Space, counselor and author Elisha walks you through a three-minute somatic exercise designed to activate the vagus nerve, calm the parasympathetic nervous system, and move anxiety out of the body — not just out of the mind. This is one of the most practical episodes we've ever released, and you can d...

Feeling overwhelmed, dysregulated, or stuck in fight-or-flight mode? In this enlightening episode of our faith-based counseling show, counselor and author Elisha guides you through the R.E.S.T. Reset—a powerful 3-minute nervous system regulation routine grounded in somatic healing and Christian faith. Discover what the vagus nerve is and why proven vagus nerve reset techniques work effectively to...

Is your "survival mode" keeping you stuck in a chronic trauma response? In this episode of Elisha's Space, licensed counselor and author Elisha explores the patterns of trauma responses like procrastination, people-pleasing, hyper-vigilance, and emotional numbness, showing these are not character flaws but indicators of trauma. Emphasizing trauma recovery through counseling and personal developmen...

Are you exhausted from battling your own feelings? Discover a transformative approach to nervous system regulation in this episode of Elisha's Space. Counselor and author Elisha explores the clinical and faith-based counseling practice of "meeting life as it is," moving beyond fight-or-flight responses toward a regulated, present, and spiritually grounded life. In this episode, you'll learn why re...

In this enlightening episode of Elisha's Space, a show dedicated to authentic conversations on healing, we explore the crucial connection between trauma and the body. Licensed counselor Elisha unpacks the F.I.V.E. Body Languages of stored trauma — the subtle physical signals within your nervous system that reveal what the mind hasn't fully processed. This session guides you through personal develo...

If you've been told your anxiety is due to a lack of faith — and despite praying, believing, and trusting, it lingers — this faith-based counseling show episode is especially for you. Elisha, a licensed counselor and trauma specialist, breaks down the 4 hidden root causes of what she calls "spiritual anxiety" — anxiety experienced in faith spaces often mistaken as solely a spiritual problem. You'l...

Feeling overwhelmed? This episode of Elisha's Space offers a faith-based spiritual reset through a guided meditation designed specifically for women experiencing stress and spiritual burnout. In just five minutes, Elisha leads you through breath work, scripture-anchored imagery, and somatic grounding techniques that promote nervous system healing and overwhelm relief. Through this episode, you'll...

Are you struggling with unexplained anxiety, insomnia, or chronic tension that seems to have no clear cause? The root of these symptoms may lie in your spiritual trauma. In this episode, Elisha explores how spiritual trauma physically manifests as anxiety, blending counseling strategies with faith-based perspectives for comprehensive healing. Elisha unpacks polyvagal theory, somatic neuroscience,...

If you've walked away from a church, ministry, or spiritual community that caused harm, this episode on spiritual abuse recovery is here to support your healing journey. Spiritual trauma healing is uniquely challenging because it affects your mind, identity, community, and relationship with God. In this faith-based counseling show, Elisha guides you through five hidden gifts of healing from spirit...

This episode is for the one who waits until the house is quiet. The one who turns on the shower so no one hears. The one who cries alone — and has almost forgotten what it feels like to be seen in that place. In this deeply personal, devotional episode, counselor and host Elisha sits with the reality of hidden grief — and offers something many of us have never truly received: a prayer spoken over...

Have you spent years believing you were the problem? Too emotional. Too sensitive. Too needy. Too much. In this episode of Elisha's Space, counselor, author, and entrepreneur Elisha gently but boldly reframes one of the most damaging lies told to women in trauma and in faith communities — that your depth is a defect. The truth? You are not too much. You are carrying too much. And there is a differ...

What do you say to someone who feels like a burden? In this episode, counselor and author Elisha shares exactly what she tells clients who struggle with feeling like they're too much — and why this belief is a wound, not a truth. We explore: ✅ Where the "I'm a burden" belief comes from (hint: it was installed, not chosen) ✅ 3 things I tell every client who feels this way ✅ The theology of needi...

Have you ever looked at your life and thought, "I am broken beyond repair"? Not just struggling — but fundamentally, permanently damaged? In this deeply personal episode, counselor and author Elisha addresses the belief that you are beyond God's reach and beyond healing. Through clinical insight, powerful Scripture, and a spoken blessing you won't forget — this episode meets you in the broken plac...

What happens when the doctor becomes the patient — and the diagnosis is PTSD? Dr. Ronda Wells is a physician, author, and woman of faith who has spent her career caring for others. But after a traumatic hospitalization — one of 16 surgeries in her lifetime — she found herself on the other side of the exam table, facing a diagnosis she never expected: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In this episode...

Women in the Bible have been misrepresented for centuries — and it's time to set the record straight. In this powerful episode of Elisha's Space, counselor and host Elisha sits down with author Jamie Hulker to explore God's true design for women through Bible teaching, biblical history, and the stories the church often overlooks. Jamie's book "Esteemed: God in His View of Women" unpacks how script...

We often think that staying quiet keeps the peace. But what if that silence is actually keeping your nervous system in a state of high alert? In this episode of Elisha's Space, I sit down with clinical psychologist and author Dr. Chloe Carmichael to explore a question most of us have never thought to ask: Is my self-censorship driving my anxiety? Dr. Carmichael, author of Can I Say That? Why Free...

In this powerful episode of Elisha's Space, I sit down with award-winning writer and musician Janna Herron to talk about her journey through depression, PTSD, anorexia, and multiple suicide attempts — and how God's grace met her in the darkest places of her life. Janna is the author of Transforming Tears (2019) and her newest book, Brokenness Restored: The Path to Recovery is a Healing Journey (20...

What happens to a family’s emotional health when tragedy strikes without warning? In this episode of “Health Goes Beyond the Individual to the Whole Family,” Elisha sits down with author and speaker Karen Whiting to share the deeply personal story of how her family walked through the sudden loss of her son‑in‑law — and how faith, family, and practical support carried them through an unthinkable se...