The best part of being in the group was I felt like I had people who were ready at a moments notice to listen, understand, and support me. I also felt empowered by the fact that I could be an encouragement to them, and it felt really good to find ways to respond to others in the group.
Leaving the Fold is invaluable to those who have gone through the ordeal of religious addiction, abuse, and disillusionment, and who need a recovery plan. I highly recommend this book not only to the wounded, but also urge all pastors to study it carefully and then re-assess their own ministries. Dr. Marlene Winell has made a most important contribution to deal with the most heart-wrenching of experiences.
The most meaningful associations I’ve made, during my exodus from faith, have been through the numerous supports provided by Dr. Marlene Winell. Marlene is a compassionate and understanding professional with a warm and friendly approach to counseling. Marlene and I were able to establish rapport together quickly which allowed me to reveal and release my fears and inhibitions relating to my own dysfunctional faith practice and issues with my own personal development.
As a group facilitator for Release and Reclaim, both with her online forum and special retreats, Marlene is generous with her time and patient with our group progress. Her clinical skills are refined and impressive. By using a select set of activities and special guests, Marlene is able to carry our group through numerous stages of discovery as she subtly guides our discussions from superficial, light and easy, fun and stimulating, to more serious and sober matters of heart and health. I am truly grateful for my association with Dr. Winell. The group activities using movement, personal contact, and touch, were particularly helpful for me. Overall, with Marlene’s help, I’ve begun a wonderful journey to reclaim my life, free from so many religiously-inspired burdens and with few regrets weighing me down. Marlene helped me rediscover a rich inner world that I can tap into and with which I now find comfort and rest.
This book by psychologist Marlene Winell provides valuable insights into the dangers of religious indoctrination and outlines what therapists and victims can do to reclaim a healthier human spirit…Both former believers searching for a new beginning and those just starting to subject their faith to the requirements of simple common sense, if not analytical reason, may find valuable assistance in these pages.
Marlene is the only one I know who is working in the area of RTS (Religious Trauma Syndrome). Based on her book, Leaving the Fold, and knowing Marlene for a few years, as well as attending one of her weekend RTS retreats and speaking with some of her attendees, I highly recommend Marlene if you suspect you may have RTS. She’s very down to earth and keeps it ‘real.’
Dr. Winell has done a great deal to reach out to those who are emotionally struggling after having emerged from oppressive faith environments. I believe her book and website would be helpful to anyone in this situation, whether they grew up in an abusive religious culture or joined as an adult. As I was impressed with her work, I recommended her book on my website, www.religiouschildmaltreatment.com.
Marlene is skilled, intuitive, and informed. She has a gentle but firm way of guiding a person through the healing steps and skill-building needed for coping with the negative aspects of religious upbringing.
I found the retreats enormously helpful, with a wonderful group of warm people who had been through much of what I had been through. Marlene is a uniquely gifted leader who understands like so few do what it’s like to be in the middle of the all-encompassing religious life many of us former “born agains” lived in. I HIGHLY recommend attending…you will not regret it.
Dr. Winell’s book is distinguished by an intelligent approach which fully acknowledges the benefits of an authentic religious education as well as the pitfalls of certain forms of religious indoctrination which rob the individual of personal responsibility and integrity and the exercise of reason; an important question to contemplate today when fast changing, complex, uncertain times make simple answers very appealing especially to the young; and when fundamentalist thinking is found not only in religion but in economics and politics and nationalism too.
Marlene Winell is an intelligent person with a quiet strength and clarity of purpose — a natural leader. She is both an analyst and a visionary; on one hand, deeply compassionate, on the other, a consummate and methodical organizer. I’ve seen her plan and conduct complex events, in the process meeting the needs of multiple clients, dealing deftly with surprises, and keeping the ball rolling toward its planned outcome. She is a lively thinker and a clear communicator.