LGBTQ+ ExJW Therapy — Healing After JWs As an LGBTQ+ Person

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You grew up being told by the organisation that who you are is wrong. 

Sinful. An abomination. Something to be suppressed, confessed to the elders,

prayed away, and hidden at all costs. 

You were not just told you could not act on who you were.

 You were told that who you were was a spiritual failure.

And then, if you came out or were discovered, 

you faced disfellowshipping, shunning, family rejection, 

and the complete loss of the only community you had ever known.

The trauma this creates is specific, layered, and profound. 

And it requires specialised support from someone who understands 

both the ExJW experience and the particular damage that religious homophobia, 

biphobia and transphobia inflict on a person's sense of self.

Identity Suppression From Childhood

Growing up knowing that who you are is fundamentally incompatible 

with the world you live in. 

The hypervigilance of hiding. 

The shame of feelings you were told were wrong before you were old enough

 to understand what they meant.

Spiritual Abuse and Internalised Homophobia

Years of Watchtower teaching that your identity is sinful creates internalised shame 

that does not disappear when you leave the organisation. 

Many LGBTQ+ ex-JWs carry deep, unconscious self-hatred 

rooted in the doctrines they were taught before they could question them.

Disfellowshipping and Shunning Over Identity

Being shunned not for a choice, but for who you are. 

The particular devastation of having your family, your community, 

and your entire social world withdrawn because you stopped

 pretending to be someone you were not.

Rebuilding Identity and Pride After the Organisation

Learning to love who you are after years of being taught to hide it. 

Rebuilding self-worth, connection, and joy outside of a framework 

that treated your identity as a problem to be solved.

My therapy practice is a fully affirming, safe space for LGBTQ+ ex-Jehovah's Witnesses. 

You will never be judged. 

You will never need to justify who you are. 

And you will be working with someone who understands not just the generic LGBTQ+ experience

 — but the specific, layered trauma of being LGBTQ+

 inside the Jehovah's Witnesses organisation.

Together we work on releasing internalised shame 

rooted in Watchtower teaching, rebuilding a proud and authentic sense of self, 

processing the grief of shunning and family loss, 

and creating a life of genuine freedom of mind 

— one where your identity is a source of strength, not a wound.

You deserved love and acceptance from the moment you were born. 

The organisation failed you. I will not.

Lisa Magdalena | The Original ExJW Therapist | LGBTQ+ ExJW Specialist | Fully Affirming | Worldwide via Zoom

I even married a JW sister in the hope it would erase the gay in me.

At 26, I could no longer deny my authentic self. 

I came out, asked for a divorce, and was promptly disfellowshipped. 

Because I ran a family business employing other Witnesses, 

I lost my income, my family, and my friends all at once.

I moved to the city and was diagnosed with CPTSD, but therapy was a struggle.

 I spent more time explaining JW beliefs to the therapist 

than addressing my own scars. I wasn't progressing, so I stopped.

Everything changed in 2020 when I found Lisa Magdalena. 

By my fourth session in the ExJW Thriver Program,

 I finally felt comfortable enough to delve into the 

painful memories I’d carried for decades—

like being asked to leave the Kingdom Hall during my sister’s wedding.

Completing the program was my turning point. 

The shunning, while painful, allowed me to finally break free from the indoctrination.

 I’ve now been with my life partner for 26 years, 

and I choose my own family and friends.

I spent 20 years hoping time would heal me, 

but it was only when I confronted my past with someone 

who truly understood that I began to heal. 

I now have an indoctrination-free world view, 

and I love and accept myself completely. 

It was the best thing I’ve ever done for myself."

John S, USA

You are brave for being here. You are in the right place. 

Let’s begin your healing journey today with a simple, low-pressure conversation.