The Cult of Mormon Therapists

Description

What happens when a church treats teenage hormones like a moral emergency… and then appoints its own therapists to fix it? This week, Amanda and Reese are joined by John Dehlin (@johndehlin) of the Mormon Stories podcast (@mormstories) to unpack the deeply culty world of Mormon Therapy, where normal human behavior gets pathologized and sexual shame is framed as “treatment.” Join us as we unpack how Mormon teachings around sex, purity, and control have led to widespread sexual dysfunction, guilt, and fear and how “therapists” trained to protect doctrine (not patients) can do real psychological harm. From compulsory confessions to the pipeline that produces figures like Jodi Hildebrandt, this episode traces how moral panic masquerades as mental health care. Also, fair warning: if you take a shot every time John says the word masturbate, you will absolutely need to lie down afterward. 👽 About Sounds Like A Cult Podcast 👽 Putting the “cult” in culture… Do you think SoulCycle is a cult? What about the Royal Family? What about Disney Adults? Or spiritual influencers? Is Instagram itself a cult? We’re Sounds Like A Cult, a podcast that analyzes a different fanatical group every week to try and answer the big question: This sounds like a cult, but is it really? Sounds Like A Cult premiered in June of 2021 and has since been downloaded over 30 million times. It was named a best podcast of 2022 by Vulture, Esquire, Wired, Marie Claire, and others. The pod won the 2023 iHeart Radio “Best Emerging Podcast” Award and has been praised by The New York Times and other publications. New episodes every Tuesday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! ✨Your Co-Hosts ✨ Amanda Montell https://www.instagram.com/amanda_montell/ Chelsea Charles-McClure https://www.instagram.com/chelseaxcharles/ Reese Oliver https://www.instagram.com/reesaronii/ Stay connected with us! ⬇️ Subscribe for new weekly episodes! https://www.youtube.com/@AmandaMontellPodcasts Instagram https://www.instagram.com/soundslikeacultpod/ Patreon https://www.patreon.com/