Community Highlights: Meet Casey Bain of Unraveling Free

Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey Bain.

Hi Casey, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – To start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I have always enjoyed getting to know people deeply, hearing their stories, and making sense of the world in new ways. When I first began working as a mental health therapist, I enjoyed seeing clients from all different walks of life, including kids, adults, and couples.

Early on in my career, I was going through a personal faith journey where I was considering the evangelical Christian faith I’d grown up with and considering if I aligned with those beliefs anymore. I went through a process of deconstructing my faith, and figuring out what aspects of spirituality still felt right or true to me. During this period, I also began exploring the harm that occurs in many religious communities. I had several friends and clients who had traumatic experiences that were directly connected to church or faith community and began realizing how common that was. I began reading and learning more about these patterns of high-control, high-demand systems and how they are often created in faith spaces.

This led me to decide to start Unraveling Free, which is a therapy and coaching practice specifically created for clients who have experienced things like religious trauma, spiritual abuse, church hurt, or deconstruction. When I first came up with the idea for the practice, I had no idea how to start or run a business, or what it would look like to try to market myself. It was a process to figure it all out, but now I’m able to work with clients on these topics and do what I love every day!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Yes and no! In many ways, creating this practice has gone more smoothly and received more support than I ever could have imagined. There have been bumps along the way, though. For example, when I first decided to create Unraveling Free, I was hoping to do it on the side, because I was worried that it would not be successful enough for me to do full-time. However, when I approached my employer to let them know my plan, they told me that they no longer allowed their therapists to have their practice on the side.

At first, I was discouraged and felt like maybe it wouldn’t be possible. However, my intuition told me this was something I needed to do, and that it was needed. So I decided to take the jump, quit my job, and go for it! It was really scary not knowing if I would get enough clients to support myself financially, but I decided it was worth the risk, and it was. Another risk that felt scary at first was adding a co-owner, Kendra, to the practice. I was worried at first that we might not agree on certain things and that there would be conflict, but it felt like the right kind of risk to take. It has been so incredible to now get to work with a friend and share both the burdens and joys with Kendra and has made the practice so much better than it was when it was just me!

Lastly, there have been periods where I’ve felt unsure of myself, where not enough client calls were coming in, or where marketing has felt exhausting. It’s been vulnerable to publicly talk about faith and religion since it’s such a sensitive topic. But through it all, I’ve been so grateful that I’ve been able to do work that I genuinely enjoy and that feels meaningful to me, and that’s consistently made it worth it.

As you know, we’re big fans of Unraveling Free. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Unraveling Free is a therapy and coaching practice for clients who have experienced things like deconstruction, church hurt, religious trauma or harm, or any other impacts from a high-control system. Common impacts we work with include struggles with identity after changing beliefs, struggling with sex or sexuality due to highly restrictive or shaming environments, childhood trauma within a religious environment, or shifting dynamics within a family or couple when one person’s beliefs change and the others don’t.

There are, of course, many other experiences and impacts we work with, but I think that gives a good idea! Even though this is a highly needed specialty area, most people don’t know it’s even possible to find a therapist with this background. It’s a very new area to specialize in, especially since we don’t align ourselves with any one faith or belief system, but instead aim to work with clients regardless of what they believe or where they land. I’m incredibly proud of what Kendra and I have built, and how accessible we’ve been able to make it by offering both in-person and online sessions, including for clients who live anywhere in the world.

I’m also proud of the community we’ve built on Instagram @unravelingfree. We use our page to provide education and community on these topics, and we both love writing and being creative in that way. Our newest offering will be a half-day retreat here in Denver, and I hope we’ll be able to continue to grow and offer more and more opportunities for healing and growth for people who need it!

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
There are so many things that make me happy, both within and outside of work. Within work spaces, it makes me happy to experience clients no longer feeling alone, and seeing them be able to make meaningful progress. Outside of work, things that make me happy are being outside, going on walks with my dog, Milo, spending time with my partner or friends, traveling, and going to new places.

I also love to read, write, and be creative. One of the most healing things about being much more open spiritually is that anything can be a spiritual experience. I have experiences of joy, peace, and connection in small, day-to-day moments and in doing the things that bring happiness.

Pricing:

• Session cost: $140/ session

Contact Info:

• Website: www.unravelingfree.com
• Instagram: @unravelingfree
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unravelingfree/

Image Credits
Haley Hawn