The Mormon Therapist
For those of you who are interested – I will be one of the presenters at Sunstone Southwest on February 20th. I will also be offering my Sexuality after a Mormon Transition workshop on February 21st. Read more
For those of you who are interested – I will be one of the presenters at Sunstone Southwest on February 20th. I will also be offering my Sexuality after a Mormon Transition workshop on February 21st. Read more
For whatever reason, an article that was published by the Church in 2010 titled Effectiveness of Church Approach to Preventing Child Abuse reemerged on the LDS newsroom on February 1, making many believe this was a new release. The Church is stating this was a technical glitch and not purposeful from their end. Regardless, the reemergence of this article has caused for much needed dialogue on this topic – specifically from victims of child abuse themselves. And many are reporting deep distress... Read more
For whatever reason, an article that was published by the Church in 2010 titled Effectiveness of Church Approach to Preventing Child Abuse reemerged on the LDS newsroom on February 1, making many believe this was a new release. The Church is stating this was a technical glitch and not purposeful from their end. Regardless, the reemergence of this article has caused for much needed dialogue on this topic – specifically from victims of child abuse themselves. And many are reporting... Read more
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement today called: Effectiveness of Church Approach to Preventing Child Abuse.* On the one hand, I’m glad to see the Church being willing to talk openly about such an important topic, express concerns we all share and discuss some of the efforts they have made to address abuse situations both within family systems and ecclesiastical situations. On the other hand, some of the information in this release is not accurate... Read more
It’s one thing to advocate for awareness of the discrimination against LGBTQ members that is currently happening within our church – and the devastating results that often follow. This is a great first step. Information, stories, critiques and opinions need to continue to be forthcoming. It’s another thing all together to figure out what we, as individuals, can do about our current situation. Many are at a loss – especially when they value their membership in our church, want to... Read more
The Deseret News published a lengthy article today, LDS Church Leaders Mourn Reported Deaths in Mormon LGBT Community, addressing the number of reported suicides among LDS LGBT youth since the policy announcement of last November.* Much of what was stated was very useful information: the interplay between depression/despair and environmental factors (i.e. family/community rejection, bullying, etc.) which play a role in suicidal ideation and attempts, the status of suicide data collection, links to resources that families and individuals can find... Read more
My colleague Kristin Hodson, who is a fellow certified sex therapist, is conducting the following informal, short survey regarding whether or not parents/guardians would consider offering a child a mirror to look at their genitals an appropriate approach to use in their sexual education methods. Participation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Would you give your child a mirror to look at their genitals? Read more
Faith transitions are brutal – for everyone involved. Those who are facing information or experiences that no longer resonate with their religious upbringing or conversion find themselves in painful situations where they feel confusion, pain, tremendous loss, doubts, having to redefine much of their personal, spiritual and relational identities, and are often facing less than ideal responses from their loved ones and church communities. Those who love their faith and believe in its principles and doctrines are usually at a... Read more
Protection, although often loving, is not intimacy. It may be a part of intimacy – but more often than not, it gets in the way of it. “I try to protect you from the parts of me that might hurt you.” Or “I try to protect myself from the parts of you that hurt me.” When, in reality, intimacy is about the willingness to face those parts we fear the most. Natasha Helfer Parker Read more
The following is published with permission and written by Wiktoria Heinz, MD. Dr. Heinz is a trauma doctor in Sweden and Finland where she works at level 1 hospitals and a member of the Church for 30 years. I’ve been pondering deeply about how I’m going to phrase this. People sometimes ask me if it’s not scary to be a doctor when there’s lots of blood and stuff. And the answer is no. You get used to it and we... Read more
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