As a spiritual abuse researcher and working ritualist, I have one foot firmly anchored in the psychology of cults, with a keen personal and academic understanding of what misuse of spiritual power looks and feels like. My other foot is in the world of intuition, animism, and ritual, which I consider to be very natural human skills of relationship, attunement, and meaning-making.
For the last nine years I have walked alongside people through grief, loss, initiatory experiences, spiritual abuse recovery, deconstruction of traditions that no longer make sense, and rebuilding relationships with self, place, and ancestors. I draw upon my research, years of client work, and my own lived experience to support people in reclaiming their spiritual lives in ways that feel organic and authentic to them.
I am near completion of my MSc in the Psychology of Coercive Control from the University of Salford and work as a research assistant at the University of Victoria exploring the mental health needs of cult survivors and survivors of online high-demand groups and ideologies.
I am a hands-on learner and have learned as much in solitary retreats, receiving from other healers, and exchanges with clients and colleagues as I have in formal training environments. I work with gratitude for all the teachers and traditions that have shaped my practice, and I know I can only capture a fraction of them in this list. I am grateful to every person who has invited me into their ceremonial spaces, into conversation, ritual, and learning with kindness and respect.
Ancestral & Ritual Work
Betsy Bergstrom, John Lockley, Daniel Foor, Rachel Weitz
Embodiment & Movement
Helen Walkley, Cara Reeser
Greif
Frances Weller, Brooke Arnold-Rochette
Myth & Writing
Martin Shaw, Stephanie Mackay, Selah Saterstrom
Ethics & Power
Cedar Barstow, Amanda Aguillera, Rabbi Charna Rosenholtz
Coercive Control Research
Rod & Linda Dubrow-Marshall
Rayann holds a wide and grounded space for safety and clear vision to emerge. She creates a corridor between the worlds to link one’s personal experience to higher purpose and truth.
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Educator, Writer, Ritualist & Cult Researcher
MSc Psychology of Coercive Control Candidate (2026)
BA Psychology (2005)
Supporting recovery after spiritual harm
© 2026 Rayann Gordon