Natasha Helfer Parker teams with Dan Wotherspoon of Mormon Matters to provide a panel discussion, including leading national experts, on the issues with treating sexual and relational problems through the lens of addiction treatment.
Natasha Helfer Parker and Kristin Hodson, two of the panelists, helped author an Op-Eds in the Salt Lake Tribune (here and here) focusing on the issue of pornography, and especially if an “addiction†model is appropriate to be taught in high school settings. The impetus for the initial opinion piece was the propriety of allowing the group “Fight the New Drug†(FTND) to offer presentations in public school assemblies or other gathering types, especially since the science behind the claims FTND makes about pornography as “addicting†is not credible. There are major divisions within helping communities with regard to the effects of pornography upon the human brain and body, and the best approach(es) to take when someone comes to a therapist for help with a level of pornography usage they feel is is problematic.
Mormon Matters went on to interview some clinicians who take the opposing stance to this podcast. Mormon Mental Health Podcast is purposefully not including those on its website due to the concern of spreading misinformation that continues to confuse the public. The information found on the episodes that are shared by MMH are supported by the position statements of the national body of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists.