Description

In this presentation, Natasha Helfer and Rachel Larsen examine the psychological and systemic implications of recent policy shifts within the LDS Church. By lowering the missionary service age for women and increasing the emphasis on finding an “eternal companion” during service, the institutional framework has effectively accelerated the developmental timeline for young adult women.

The presenters argue that these changes create a “perfect storm” of institutional entrapment, funneling women into marriage and motherhood well before the milestone of full adult brain development (ages 25–26). The session will analyze how these pressures converge to bypass critical stages of:

Identity Formation: The loss of autonomous exploration regarding personal values and sexuality.

Economic Independence: The systemic de-prioritization of higher education and career development in favor of early domesticity.

Rigid Gender Roles: The psychological limitations of strictly defined “mother-homemaker” archetypes that restrict personal agency and limit self-actualization.

Long-term Agency: The high “exit costs” associated with questioning these early-adult decisions once established in traditional family structures.

Through a clinical lens, Helfer and Larsen will discuss the long-term impact on female mental health and the professional responsibilities of therapists working with individuals navigating these rigid life-cycle transitions.

Rachel Larsen is an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, and co-owner of Symmetry Counseling. With a clinical focus on emotional regulation, relationship (re)structuring, and trauma processing, Rachel specializes in the complex intersection of conservative religious deconstruction and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)—specifically moral scrupulosity and perfectionism. Beyond her private practice, Rachel bridges clinical expertise with academia as an instructor at Utah Valley University, where she teaches courses on Abnormal Psychology and Cognitive Psychology.

Natasha Helfer is an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist/Supervisor and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 30 years of experience. Her expertise lies in the intersection of conservative religious upbringings and sexuality, specifically in the area of deconstructing internalized sexual shame. She runs a group practice, Symmetry Counseling, where services focus on helping people with religious trauma, reclaiming sexual desire, mixed-faith relationships, coming out journeys, healing sexual shame or trauma, and exploring sexual authenticity.