Has anyone used LDS services for therapy. I know this is an ex-mormon forum and will get mostly negative thoughts; however, I really need to know. I am going through divorce and lost my job so now have no income or insurance to get a "real" therapist, but I need one desperately. I think LDS services would be the most reasonable and my mother is asking me to consider it.

What are you thoughts? Are there ANY good reviews on them? What are their qualifications generally? I have no idea.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2013 12:49AM by phoebe64.

I don't know how it works, but if it's anything like getting a regular therapist, you can call and ask a few questions to their receptionist and get an idea if you'll mesh.

Maybe think of some questions to flesh out how TBM they are. For example: "I'm going through some tough times, and looking for a therapist who will give me some practical ideas (or support), from a secular perspective."

My understanding from those who have been to an LDS social services therapist is that part of their treatment will always be to pray, read your scriptures, pay your tithing, and all of the "Mormon" things that make things go right in your life. Only they don't. Doing the "Mormon things right" does not fix your life.

I was 19 and dumb and still a believer.

Looking back they completely slaughtered patient confidentiality.

But I wonder if they actually care about that or if it applies to them. Maybe there is a loophole somewhere that they have.

Actually, I have to give lds therapists credit for changing my dad's thinking somehow.
You will never hear me support anything lds, but there are a few good people in spite of the religion.
One of them paid attention in school, and despite the extra bullshit involved in lds therapy, got through to my dad and really helped him.

I wouldn't necessarily count on finding that effective therapist, but there's a few good ones lost in the system.
If it's your only option, you could try it, but be prepared to walk out on bullshit, or have your issues blabbed to others.

Even with real world counseling, you won't always work out with the first one you visit.

Good luck! I hope you find some help that really helps.

I went to LDS social services after losing my son. I think it helped. But the counselor did use a lot of scriptural references. Being uber-TBM at the time, it worked for me.

Wishing you well in this difficult time...

My wife has dragged us to an lds counsellor a couple times. I can't say I'm
impressed. He keeps dropping hints that the church is true and I will eventually find my way back and in a total of 1.5 hours he has managed to mention about a half dozen times that he only does this part time and he owns several large corporations and can afford to go on vacations all the time. I suppose the price is right though

I ended up with a really good therapist through LDS services. It helped me immensely when going through my divorce. She isn't at the LDS services office anymore, but she is approved to counsel LDS clients from bishops. Your bishop may have a list of other therapists in addition to ones actually at lds services office that he can refer you to.
Good Luck!
Sally

People always tend to report that they found that LDS therapy sessions always had the need to validate the LDS church, and that they were less professional than non-LDS therapists.

LDS "therapy" exists because in real therapy Mormons might discover that the church is one of the big causes of their problems. LDS therapy is about damage control for the church, not the mental health of the patient. It's about getting people to return to their captors and torturers.

...you do not want the bishop, the stake pres or whatever, and all the ward gossips not only to know, but to spread all over (suitably embellished, of course!)everyplace.

I had a bad experience with them years ago, but my TBM brother has been seeing one for therapy from his divorce and she has been pretty good for him. Of course, my brother is a 100%'er so anything church-related is always going to be "good" in his opinion.

You might get a fine therapist, but the problem is that these people are so treacherous and you are probably at a vulnerable point in your life that they might do a lot of damage to you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2013 10:17AM by Makurosu.

My parents sought help after my older brother died...it made things worse for our family. Then they tried again when their marriage was falling apart a few years later...and it made the divorce much more difficult and "shameful". All the while, fellow members were privvy to private details in our lives, and took it upon themselves to remind us how imperfect our family was at every opportunity.

Years ago, the LDS therapist I saw was actually very smart to tell me that he didn't think I would be served well by LDS Services. He referred me to a local city (non LDS) therapist.

I'm grateful he was decent enough to have done so.

All I will say about therapy is that much depends on the therapist and the therapee (the patient).

Our family spent years in crisis therapy. Some therapists were LDS, some were non-members, never an ex-mormon. Some of the LDS therapists were through LDS Family Services, some were private.

An advantage working with an LDS therapist is that Mormons were so "peculiar" in communities where we lived we would spend most sessions with a non-LDS therapist explaining what we were doing in our home (Family Home Evening, etc.)

A therapist was also in our bishopric so he got to see my wife and son "in action" to observe us in more detail than other therapists.

All therapy failed. It didn't matter if the therapist was LDS or not. My wife wanted a therapist to endorse her fanatical application of Mormon practices (supported by doctrine or not). Her opinion was that our family was failing because we weren't diligent enough as Mormons. Any other position was sacrilege!

My wife would explain all the contention in our home regarding religion. A non-LDS therapist suggested that we ought to skip that part to gain peace within the home. My wife would go crazy because that "allows Satan to win."

I would watch the whites in the eyes of LDS therapists grow huge as my wife explained how hard she strived to make our lives more Mormon. Some would try to counsel my wife to be less zealous, but to no avail. Even the Scriptures or quotes from the prophets (my wife's staple) couldn't sway her opinion. The therapist from our bishopric told my wife that under LDS doctrine our 14-year old son could decide to attend Church or not for himself. "He's stupid! and knows nothing about how the Church really runs," said my wife.

In summary, don't expect an honest appraisal of the role of the Church in your life from an LDS Family Services therapist. And if you are in counselling with a TBM, expect the TBM person to want their beliefs to be reinforced through counselling and not challenged.

I went for help "dealing with SSA." Got the Mormon party line. Luckily I'd already realized that that was no help, so I didn't go for long.

I'm curious how many gay people have killed themselves because of LDS social Services.

My TBM ex went for a while, but got 3 dud counselors in a row. Then she found a non-Mormon counselor and it's been much, MUCH better.

I wasn't even gay, and I wanted to kill myself after talking with that bunch. I went for help with depression, and all these people would do was blame me and accuse me of sins I wasn't committing. So, I had to fend off the accusations of LDS Social Services in addition to dealing with my own depression.

The guy I spoke with actually told me "Okay, so what is it? Drugs? Alcohol? Sex? Before we can discuss the symptoms, we need to get to the actual cause." It was the third degree from then on out. I can only imagine the damage they've caused over the years, especially to gays.

I think LDS Social service is necessary for TBMs that will run if someone undermines the church in any way. There is also the advantage of not having to explain the craziness of mormonism. However, a well trained therapist should help you examine the pros and cons of the agenda you have set for yourself, and provide support as you transition. Is there a university that has a clinical psychology or social work training program where you can get help at a reduced rate? These students are often supervised by some of the most talented therapists in the area.

Two family members had disappointing experiences with counselors at LDS Social Services.

One was a mish who came home early from a difficult country to serve a mission in. Only when this mish went to a non-LDS counselor were his religious concerns properly discussed and brought to the surface. Turned out he was afraid to share his concerns with a member of his own church. Another family member was being counseled because of a personal concern and the views of the Mormoney Church were preached and advised to this person in such away as the person felt they were being told which direction they should take. Not much free agency there.