About this episode
In this series on Mormon Stories, we interview the fabulous Natasha Helfer Parker, MFT, CST — moderator of the Mormon Mental Health podcast — to finally hear her “Mormon story.” This interview covers: *Being raised in the Church with convert parents in Spain and her eventual move to the US *Natasha and her family’s concerns about the practice of polygamy and frustration that their questions never seemed to be answered, yet remaining true-believers *The impact of being a victim of sexual abuse as a child and teenager and how it influenced her experiences exploring her sexuality as a teenager and young adult *Her removal from BYU because of her sexual experiences and her thoughts now about the unintended consequences of honor code enforcement *How she met her husband and disclosed her sexual past in an act of transparency, and how it affected the first years of their marriage *Her thoughts now about the difference between behavior and self-worth within the Church, especially as it relates to sexual behavior *Her decision to become a sex therapist and how her move to the Midwest became an impetus to develop a wider online presence *How being a believer in the faith, but having a nuanced view of sexuality led her to being widely known as the “Mormon Sex Therapist” *How cracks developed in her Orthodox faith foundation *Her feeling of being in a continuing faith transition for much of the 20+ years of her practice http://www.mormonmentalhealth.org https://www.symmetrysols.com