The Natasha Helfer Podcast

Natasha Helfer
  • 4.4 (120)
  • Sexuality
  • Updated Weekly

Sex, Religion, and Everything in Between

  1. 7h ago

    150: General Conference October 2026 Discussion

    In this episode, Natasha is joined by two of her Symmetry Counseling providers, Jenny Elledge and Rachel Larsen, to talk about the most recent General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Together they walk through a few of the talks, looking at the messages members heard and how those messages can land for people at different places in their faith journeys. They explore what stood out, what may have felt supportive or harmful, and how to approach this kind of content with care, whether you are still active, questioning, or have already stepped away. More about Jenny Elledge: https://symcounseling.com/jenny-elledge/ More about Rachel Larsen: https://symcounseling.com/rachel-larsen/   To help keep this podcast going, please consider donating at natashahelfer.com and share this episode. To watch the video of this podcast, you can subscribe to Natasha's channel on Youtube and follow her professional Facebook page at natashahelfer LCMFT, CST-S. You can find all her cool resources at natashahelfer.com. The information shared on this program is informational and should not be considered therapy. This podcast addresses many topics around mental health and sexuality and may not be suitable for minors. Some topics may elicit a trigger or emotional response so please care for yourself accordingly. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or feelings of Natasha Helfer or the Natasha Helfer Podcast. We provide a platform for open and diverse discussions, and it is important to recognize that different perspectives may be shared. We encourage our listeners to engage in critical thinking and form their own opinions. The intro and outro music for these episodes is by Otter Creek. Thank you for listening. And remember: Symmetry is now offering Ketamine services. To find out more, go to symcounseling.com/ketamine-services. There are also several upcoming workshops. Visit natashahelfer.com or symcounseling.com to find out more.

  2. Oct 21

    149: Finding Strength in Polyamorous Relationships

    In this episode, Natasha is joined by Dr. Alex Tatum, a psychologist and professor at Illinois State University, to talk about what the research says about polyamory. He studies consensual non-monogamy and the experiences of people in polyamorous relationships. Alex and his colleagues surveyed 63 American adults who have been or currently are in polyamorous relationships. Their first paper looked at what first led people to pursue polyamory and found four common themes: values alignment, relationship factors, external stimuli, and sexuality. Natasha and Alex discuss the difference between choosing polyamory because it fits who you are and trying to open a relationship to fix it. Their newer paper takes a strengths-based approach and asks what helps people navigate the challenges of polyamory. It identified eight themes, including communication skills, managing difficult emotions, compersion and well-managed jealousy, and a willingness to challenge the cultural expectation of monogamy. Read the research: Initial Motivations for Engaging in Polyamorous Relationships (Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2023): https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02750-z "I Know How to Identify and Communicate My Needs": A Qualitative Study of the Self-Perceived Strengths of People in Polyamorous Relationships (Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 2026): https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.70119 Psychology Today write-up of the first study, "Why Some Couples Choose Polyamory": https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/talking-apes/202312/why-some-couples-choose-polyamory   To help keep this podcast going, please consider donating at natashahelfer.com and share this episode. To watch the video of this podcast, you can subscribe to Natasha's channel on Youtube and follow her professional Facebook page at natashahelfer LCMFT, CST-S. You can find all her cool resources at natashahelfer.com. The information shared on this program is informational and should not be considered therapy. This podcast addresses many topics around mental health and sexuality and may not be suitable for minors. Some topics may elicit a trigger or emotional response so please care for yourself accordingly. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or feelings of Natasha Helfer or the Natasha Helfer Podcast. We provide a platform for open and diverse discussions, and it is important to recognize that different perspectives may be shared. We encourage our listeners to engage in critical thinking and form their own opinions. The intro and outro music for these episodes is by Otter Creek. Thank you for listening. And remember: Symmetry is now offering Ketamine services. To find out more, go to symcounseling.com/ketamine-services. There are also several upcoming workshops. Visit natashahelfer.com or symcounseling.com to find out more.

  3. Oct 14

    148: Latter-day Psychosis

    Natasha sits down with Natasha Ruby, an artist and memoirist from Fort Collins, Colorado, whose work grows out of her lived experience with religion, recovery, and rebuilding. Natasha Ruby is the author of "Latter-day Psychosis," a raw and honest look at leaving religion and rebuilding identity, addiction and sobriety, mental health and psychosis, and the messy, nonlinear process of healing. Together they talk about what it means to break, heal, and become again, and how to begin authoring your own life after questioning everything you were raised to believe. You can find Natasha Ruby and her book here: Website: https://www.natasharubyart.com Latter-day Psychosis: https://www.natasharubyart.com/general-7 Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook: @natasharubyart   To help keep this podcast going, please consider donating at natashahelfer.com and share this episode. To watch the video of this podcast, you can subscribe to Natasha's channel on Youtube and follow her professional Facebook page at natashahelfer LCMFT, CST-S. You can find all her cool resources at natashahelfer.com. The information shared on this program is informational and should not be considered therapy. This podcast addresses many topics around mental health and sexuality and may not be suitable for minors. Some topics may elicit a trigger or emotional response so please care for yourself accordingly. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or feelings of Natasha Helfer or the Natasha Helfer Podcast. We provide a platform for open and diverse discussions, and it is important to recognize that different perspectives may be shared. We encourage our listeners to engage in critical thinking and form their own opinions. The intro and outro music for these episodes is by Otter Creek. Thank you for listening. And remember: Symmetry is now offering Ketamine services. To find out more, go to symcounseling.com/ketamine-services. There are also several upcoming workshops. Visit natashahelfer.com or symcounseling.com to find out more.

  4. Sep 30

    147: Clinical Red Flags & Ethical Failures: The Jodi Hildebrandt Case

    Dr. Julie de Azevedo joins Natasha on this episode of the Natasha Helfer Podcast to discuss some of the clinical red flags and ethical failures of the Jodi Hildebrandt case. Both Julie and Natasha have been featured in documentaries about the case, and they bring their perspectives as licensed therapists to a story that has shaken so many families and faith communities. You can find out more about Dr. de Azevedo on her website: https://www.drjuliehanks.com/about Follow Julie on social media: Instagram: @drjuliehanks Facebook: @DrJulieHanks X/Twitter: @drjuliehanks LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/drjuliehanks Listen to Julie's interview with Kevin Franke on the Ask Dr. Julie Hanks Podcast: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo-WwPm54Cg Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3qS1ViMT8Uo29gtuET2GB8 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kevin-franke-on-healing-self-trust-and-life-after/id1550864262?i=1000741340854 Watch the documentaries: Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence (HBO Max): https://www.hbomax.com/show/45ecb4cd-3f29-47b0-9557-b88be510e30c Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (Netflix): https://www.netflix.com/title/81925846   To help keep this podcast going, please consider donating at natashahelfer.com and share this episode. To watch the video of this podcast, you can subscribe to Natasha's channel on Youtube and follow her professional Facebook page at natashahelfer LCMFT, CST-S. You can find all her cool resources at natashahelfer.com. The information shared on this program is informational and should not be considered therapy. This podcast addresses many topics around mental health and sexuality and may not be suitable for minors. Some topics may elicit a trigger or emotional response so please care for yourself accordingly. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or feelings of Natasha Helfer or the Natasha Helfer Podcast. We provide a platform for open and diverse discussions, and it is important to recognize that different perspectives may be shared. We encourage our listeners to engage in critical thinking and form their own opinions. The intro and outro music for these episodes is by Otter Creek. Thank you for listening. And remember: Symmetry is now offering Ketamine services. To find out more, go to symcounseling.com/ketamine-services. There are also several upcoming workshops. Visit natashahelfer.com or symcounseling.com to find out more.

  5. Sep 28

    146: Coming Back Whole

    On this episode of the Natasha Helfer Podcast, Ingrid Chapman joins to discuss her book, "Coming Back Whole: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival, and Self-Reclamation." At fifty, after thirty-two years of marriage, Ingrid Chapman served her husband divorce papers at the airport—directly in front of the woman he was having an affair with. It was the moment she stopped disappearing. COMING BACK WHOLE is the story of how she got there. Married at eighteen, she raised three children, helped build a family nonprofit, and spent decades inside a church that taught her endurance was holiness and silence was safety. Beneath the capable surface lay hidden betrayals, a hunger she could not name, and the early absence of a mother who left when she was five. This is not a dramatic escape but a quieter, more common reckoning: what happens when a woman finally trusts her own knowing after a lifetime of being taught to doubt it. With raw honesty and hard-won grace, Ingrid reclaims the self she buried to survive—and builds the life that finally feels like her own. In her sixties, she now lives on a small homestead with her second husband, surrounded by chickens, bees, and gardens, with their seven children, and eighteen grandchildren close by. For any woman who has felt trapped in roles that no longer fit, Coming Back Whole offers a tender, powerful reminder: you are allowed to come back to yourself. You can find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HC1KKJZP?lv=shuf&bestFormat=true&crid=33M49QBR1MRIE&sprefix=Coming+back+whole+by+ingrid+chapman&k=ingrid+chapman+coming+back+whole&channelId=500&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-v2_k0_1_35_de&plpRedirect=mhFallback   To help keep this podcast going, please consider donating at natashahelfer.com and share this episode. To watch the video of this podcast, you can subscribe to Natasha's channel on Youtube and follow her professional Facebook page at natashahelfer LCMFT, CST-S. You can find all her cool resources at natashahelfer.com. The information shared on this program is informational and should not be considered therapy. This podcast addresses many topics around mental health and sexuality and may not be suitable for minors. Some topics may elicit a trigger or emotional response so please care for yourself accordingly. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or feelings of Natasha Helfer or the Natasha Helfer Podcast. We provide a platform for open and diverse discussions, and it is important to recognize that different perspectives may be shared. We encourage our listeners to engage in critical thinking and form their own opinions. The intro and outro music for these episodes is by Otter Creek. Thank you for listening. And remember: Symmetry is now offering Ketamine services. To find out more, go to symcounseling.com/ketamine-services. There are also several upcoming workshops. Visit natashahelfer.com or symcounseling.com to find out more.

  6. Aug 28

    145: Holy Disobedience

    Natasha sits down with Melissa Duge Spiers, author of "Holy Disobedience: Sex, Sin, and Secrets in the Biggest Church No One Knows," for a wide-ranging conversation before diving into her story. They talk about growing up inside a strict, fundamentalist Seventh-day Adventist Church, and how Melissa's life changed when she learned her father, a respected pastor, was a serial child predator shielded for years by the church. Melissa shares how she rebuilt her sense of self after escaping high control religion, including an unexpected friendship with her father's first victim that helped her reclaim her voice. Her memoir is being called a story of fierce honesty and radical freedom for anyone breaking out of controlling systems. You can find Melissa and her book here: Order "Holy Disobedience": https://www.lakedrivebooks.com/books/holy-disobedience/ Substack: https://melissadugespiers.substack.com/ TikTok: @theglorywhole Instagram: @the.glory.whole To help keep this podcast going, please consider donating at natashahelfer.com and share this episode. To watch the video of this podcast, you can subscribe to Natasha's channel on Youtube and follow her professional Facebook page at natashahelfer LCMFT, CST-S. You can find all her cool resources at natashahelfer.com. The information shared on this program is informational and should not be considered therapy. This podcast addresses many topics around mental health and sexuality and may not be suitable for minors. Some topics may elicit a trigger or emotional response so please care for yourself accordingly. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or feelings of Natasha Helfer or the Natasha Helfer Podcast. We provide a platform for open and diverse discussions, and it is important to recognize that different perspectives may be shared. We encourage our listeners to engage in critical thinking and form their own opinions. The intro and outro music for these episodes is by Otter Creek. Thank you for listening. And remember: Symmetry is now offering Ketamine services. To find out more, go to symcounseling.com/ketamine-services. There are also several upcoming workshops. Visit natashahelfer.com or symcounseling.com to find out more.

  7. Aug 12

    144: Humor and Healing within Mormon Culture

    div]:bg-bg-000/50 [&_pre>div]:border-0.5 [&_pre>div]:border-border-400 [&_.ignore-pre-bg>div]:bg-transparent [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8"> _*]:min-w-0 gap-3 [&_>_*:last-child]:mb-0 print:block print:[&_>_*_+_*]:mt-3 standard-markdown"> Natasha sits down with Mikey Foley of "Mikey & The Mrs" (@mikeyandthemrs on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads), the husband and wife comedic morning show duo heard weekdays from 6 to 10 AM on Planet 105.1 in St. George, Utah. Together they dig into the intersection of Mormonism and comedy, exploring how humor becomes a tool for processing and healing within Mormon culture and where laughter and faith meet in everyday life.   To help keep this podcast going, please consider donating at natashahelfer.com and share this episode. To watch the video of this podcast, you can subscribe to Natasha's channel on Youtube and follow her professional Facebook page at natashahelfer LCMFT, CST-S. You can find all her cool resources at natashahelfer.com.  The information shared on this program is informational and should not be considered therapy. This podcast addresses many topics around mental health and sexuality and may not be suitable for minors. Some topics may elicit a trigger or emotional response so please care for yourself accordingly. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or feelings of Natasha Helfer or the Natasha Helfer Podcast. We provide a platform for open and diverse discussions, and it is important to recognize that different perspectives may be shared. We encourage our listeners to engage in critical thinking and form their own opinions. The intro and outro music for these episodes is by Otter Creek. Thank you for listening. And remember: Symmetry is now offering Ketamine services. To find out more, go to symcounseling.com/ketamine-services. There are also several upcoming workshops. Visit natashahelfer.com or symcounseling.com to find out more.

  8. Jun 17

    143: Faith Transition Guidance

    Madison Daniels joins Natasha on this episode of the Natasha Helfer Podcast. They discuss transitioning out of Mormonism as Madison's soon-to-be published book (releasing June 23, 2026), "Letters to a Young Ex-Mormon" is set to release. You can now pre-order it on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Young-Ex-Mormon-Field-Moving/dp/B0GVGS28KP/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1J9UJR2YFZAO6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XUKpgyNy_D67b8AZMA9TPaSKCV6qhb7vtNmVK3VKY5MOSoXRpqFiBDNBQUnAMdDSxKcfNQrK443Xo173orvVfnBT8ggsF7AdPvjMnlTZaBk.RXT1uvFRMC0KpOHxAVSXIYj2bvr2j5E1aqoL8uaPIuQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=Letters+to+a+Young+Ex-Mormon&qid=1781723661&sprefix=letters+to+a+young+ex-mormon%2Caps%2C200&sr=8-1   Madison can be found on instagram at: @MDDanielsbooks (https://www.instagram.com/MDDanielsbooks) More about Madison: Madison is a dude living and breathing in the foothills of the Wasatch Front, where he celebrates his birthday four times a year because when you're an adult you can do what you want, and celebration needs no reason. He leads a Hobbit-coded life that revolves around eating great food, drinking all kinds of things, and yapping with anyone who will yap back. During the summer, you can find him gardening, river-guiding, paddleboarding, hiking through the desert, eating popsicles, and grilling with friends in the backyard. During the winter, he lives on soups and baths alone, dreaming of warmer days full of crisp tan lines and blessed barefeet. Madison takes great pride in being his niece's and nephew's favorite uncle, his three sisters' favorite brother, and his parents' favorite Recently, he has been trying to learn to skateboard, which is an extremely brave thing to do for someone over 30.       To help keep this podcast going, please consider donating at natashahelfer.com and share this episode. To watch the video of this podcast, you can subscribe to Natasha's channel on Youtube and follow her professional Facebook page at natashahelfer LCMFT, CST-S. You can find all her cool resources at natashahelfer.com.  The information shared on this program is informational and should not be considered therapy. This podcast addresses many topics around mental health and sexuality and may not be suitable for minors. Some topics may elicit a trigger or emotional response so please care for yourself accordingly. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or feelings of Natasha Helfer or the Natasha Helfer Podcast. We provide a platform for open and diverse discussions, and it is important to recognize that different perspectives may be shared. We encourage our listeners to engage in critical thinking and form their own opinions. The intro and outro music for these episodes is by Otter Creek. Thank you for listening. And remember: Symmetry is now offering Ketamine services. To find out more, go to symcounseling.com/ketamine-services. There are also several upcoming workshops. Visit natashahelfer.com or symcounseling.com to find out more.

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Sex, Religion, and Everything in Between

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