Mormon Mental Health Podcast

Shannon Hickman joins Natasha on this episode of Sex in the Mormon News for June 2018. They begin the discussion with comments from an article that recently came out in the "Journal of Sex Research" called, "God, I Can't Stop Thinking About Sex! The Rebound Effect in Unsuccessful Suppression of Sexual Thoughts Among Religious Adolescents" where they discuss the research supporting the view that suppressing sexual thought only causes more damage. Natasha and Shannon then revisit the Josh and Lolly Weed blog post, "Turning a Unicorn into a Bat: The Post in Which we Announce the End of Our Marriage" and how this has affected members as well as the LGBTQIA+ community.

To find out more about Shannon's practice, Core Healing Counseling, please go here: http://corehealingcounseling.com/about/

For the article discussed from the "Journal of Sex Research", please go here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2018.1461796

Natasha mentions an episode in which she interviewed BYU professor, Dr. Brian Willoughby. To listen and find out more about the episode, please go here:

https://www.mormonmentalhealth.org/104-byu-study-on-pornanxiety-correlation/

To read the blog posts by Josh and Lolly Weed that Natasha and Shannon reference, you can find them here:

http://joshweed.com/2012/06/club-unicorn-come-closet-ten-year-anniversary/

http://joshweed.com/2018/01/turning-unicorn-bat-post-announce-end-marriage/

As always, in order to keep Mormon Mental Health going past 2018, we ask that you become a donor by going to mormonmentalhealth.org.

Sheri Winston joins Natasha on this episode of Mormon Sex Info. Sheri is the author of "Women's Anatomy of Arousal: Secret Maps to Buried Pleasure." Natasha and Sheri discuss her book and specifically the ways in which women experience sexual pleasure. To find out more about Sheri and the work she is doing, please visit: https://intimateartscenter.com To purchase the book, please go here: https://intimateartscenter.com/shop/the-book-womens-anatomy-of-arousal/

In light of a statement on LDS.org declaring, “An inability to feel the spirit ... is often a symptom of poor mental health,” Natasha Helfer Parker, MFT CSTand John Dehlin, Ph.D. are joined by our guest Matt to speak about his experiences with Mormon faith crisis, depression, and suicidality—issues he has dealt with for 20 years.

According to Matt, it makes him angry to read that his struggles were a trial, test, or blessing from God, or that he could have been healed if he had more faith, prayed, or hadn’t “sinned.” Matt believes that religious observance is not a cure for mental health illness, and in these episodes, Natasha and John discuss how Mormonism, and in particular a faith transition in the context of Mormonism, can exacerbate the symptoms of depression.

Part 1: Natasha and John discuss depression and then introduce our guest, Matt

Part 2: Matt shares his faith transition and how it affected his mental health

Part 3: Natasha, John, and Matt discuss the LDS Church’s statement regarding mental health and the ability to feel the “Spirit”

Natasha will be in Houston the beginning of July and will be attending the Sunstone Symposium at the end of July where she will be presenting multiple sessions as well as have a booth that she encourages all to stop by. For more information, please visit her website: natashaparker.org

OR

https://www.mormonstories.org/houston/

https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/2018-salt-lake-summer-symposium/

Thank you to all that have donated to Mormon Mental Health. To donate, please go here and consider becoming a monthly supporter: www.mormonmentalhealth.org

On this episode of Mormon Mental Health, Natasha is joined by Karin Franklin Peter who is a Community of Christ minister and serves on the Council of Presidents of Seventy. Natasha and Karin discuss Karin's personal spiritual journey in the church, the reaction by members in the church and current changes taking place.

Natasha sums up the episode by mentioning some of the mental health practices that Karin and the Community of Christ employ that both Mormons and non-Mormons alike can learn from.

For more information on the Community of Christ, please visit their website:www.cofchrist.org

Karin also hosts a Community of Christ podcast, Project Zion Podcast. To find out more, please visit: projectzionpodcast.org/tag/community-of-christ/

Thank you to all that have donated to Mormon Mental Health. To donate, please go here and consider becoming a monthly supporter: www.mormonmentalhealth.org

Natasha Helfer Parker runs an online practice, Symmetry Solutions and writes at The Mormon Therapist for Patheos: Hosting the Conversation of Faith. She also hosts the popular podcasts, Mormon Mental Health & Mormon Sex Info and creates the sex educational resource, Sex Talk with Natasha.