The Divorcing Religion Podcast
The Divorcing Religion Podcast was launched by professional counsellor Janice Selbie to highlight the impact of Religious Trauma Syndrome. Guests include The Thinking Atheist Seth Andrews, The Friendly Atheist Hemant Mehta, author Margaret Atwood, Godless Mom, Mandisa Thomas, Dr. Darrel Ray, Dr. Marlene Winell and more.
The Divorcing Religion Podcast
Strong Women in Secular Spaces: Carol Merchasin - Suing Predatory Spiritual Leaders
Strong Women in Secular Spaces: Carol Merchasin - Suing Predatory Spiritual Leaders
Carol Merchasin is an attorney who leads a practice group litigating sexual misconduct in religious, faith-based and spiritual communities at McAllister Olivarius. She is an experienced investigator who has conducted dozens of workplace investigations, including those involving sensitive allegations made against top level executives.
Carol’s current work shines a light on the failures of many spiritual centers and retreats, and the abuse of power by cult leaders.
In this episode, Carol and I discuss cults, litigating spiritual leaders, and the need to educate judges and jurors about coercive control. We also mention Dr. Steven Hassan's work, which you can find here:
FIND CAROL:
Website: https://mcolaw.com/team/carol-merchasin/
Instagram: @mcallisterolivarius (https://www.instagram.com/mcallisterolivarius/)
Janice's Amazon Best-Seller Divorcing Religion: A Memoir and Survival Handbook is now available in
USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DP78TZZF and CANADA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0DP78TZZF
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/services
Need help on your journey of healing from Religious Trauma? Book a free 20-minute consultation with Janice here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/services
Support this channel by becoming a Member of the Divorcing Religion YouTube channel! 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.
Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcast
Follow Janice and Divorcing Religion on Social Media:
Mastodon: JaniceSelbie@mas.to
Threads: Wisecounsellor@threads.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisecounsellor/
The Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician.
Podcast by Porthos Media
Copyright 2025
www.porthosmedia.net
