Meet Darls

Darls Centola, LCSW is a Los Angeles-based trauma therapist, author, and educator with over 25 years of experience navigating the psychological impact of high-control religion, spiritual abuse, and adverse religious experiences.

A former Jehovah’s Witness who walked away to reclaim her autonomy, she brings both lived experience and clinical expertise to her work—specializing in EMDR, Internal Family Systems, and trauma-informed care.

Her debut memoir blends personal narrative with cultural insight, chronicling Darls’ coming-of-age inside a restrictive belief system as a Jehovah’s Witness.

And documents her tender friendship with Michael Jackson, forged during high school, where they spent time together and studied as teenage Witnesses.

A woman with silver hair, wearing earrings and layered necklaces, smiling against a blurred green background.

Darls Centola, LCSW

A powerful voice in the growing conversation around faith deconstruction and recovery

A black-and-white portrait of a woman with long, dark hair, smiling, wearing a top with a bow and short sleeves. The image is surrounded by a scalloped border. The woman is identified as Darls Centola.