Laura Skaggs (she/her)

In this episode, we interview Laura Skaggs. Laura's been on a long journey within church; initially coming out and working for change in the church for many years before deciding to divorce her former husband and withdraw her membership. Laura also provides some insight into the trauma that queer Mormons experience, per Brian Simmon's dissertation and uses beautiful scripture metaphors (including the story of Moses) to speak about the complexity of queer Latter-day Saint experiences.

Laura Skaggs is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in treating spiritual trauma at the intersection of LGBTQ+ experiences and religion. Laura earned her master’s degree in marriage and family therapy at San Diego State University with an emphasis in LGBTQ+ mental health within conservative religious social contexts. She went on to serve for two years on the board of directors of Affirmation LGBT+ Mormons, Families and Friends with a focus on responding to spiritual trauma and suicide prevention. Laura is also the co-creator of CWEERS Empowerment groups: a practice designed to help LGBTQ+ individuals and their supporters confront social discrimination and internalized stigma. Laura is the mother of two daughters and presently sees clients full time in Provo, UT as part of Flourish Therapy Inc: a non-profit mental health clinic committed to expanding access to affordable, culturally competent, evidence-based behavioral and mental health services for LGBTQIA+ individuals, couples, and families. She also has done some beautiful writing, including this piece.

For further background about David Archuleta (whom Laura references in the episode a few times), please read this article or this article.

For episode transcripts and further resources, please visit our website.

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