Colors Out Loud: Unfiltered Mental Health Conversations for BIPOC Communities
The Ceremony Ritual and the Sacred: Rebuilding Ground After Religious Harm
Oct 06, 2026
Episode 5
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In this episode, Roy Mong, LPC-Associate (supervised by Marissa Rivera, MA, LPC-S), and Lina Guerrero, MPA, LCSW, LCDC, get personal about spiritual and religious trauma.
Roy shares how he came to faith in high school, and how his career in evangelical missions turned into spiritual abuse. And Lina talks about growing up Catholic, the rituals and community that held her together, and the rigidity and hypocrisy that pushed her to start asking questions.
DISCLAIMER: This episode is for educational purposes and isn't a substitute for therapy or crisis support. This conversation explores religious and spiritual trauma and spiritual abuse, and includes some strong language. Both hosts come from Christian traditions, and their stories reflect that lens.
In this episode:
- (00:00) Intro
- (03:00) Catholic and evangelical upbringings
- (04:21) When faith served us and when it didn't
- (10:02) Growing up Catholic: ritual, community, and youth group rigidity
- (19:43) "Pray harder": single-cause thinking, guilt, and shame
- (29:46) Healing, agency, and the right to self-determination
- (35:15) Decentering whiteness: Christian nationalism and the historic Black church
- (42:42) Ceremony and finding the sacred outside religious spaces
More from Colors of Austin Counseling:
The Ceremony Ritual and the Sacred: Rebuilding Ground After Religious Harm
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