Negotiating Leaving Religion, Family Relationships, and Identity: The Case of LDS Faith Transitions in Therapy

AbstractThis paper chronicles the process through which five clients in therapeutic sessions work through their experiences with leaving the LDS (Mormon) church, including the associated friction with immediate and extended family and the consequences these experiences have on participants ’ sense of identity. Using grounded theory to analyze client notes, we discovered three broad “central categories” across all five research participants. These categories include first, the process of leaving the LDS religion and church and associated faith crises (of various degrees), second, the experience of tension between the need for authenticity and family expectations concerning religion and faith, and sometimes sexuality, and the resulting feeling of “leading two lives,” and third, the consequences of the faith crisis and friction with family members on clients’ sense of i dentity, and their work towards the achievement of identity at the same time.

Source: Clinical Social Work Journal - November 13, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research