The World Cup. The Odyssey. Pioneer Day. Why We Still Need to Gather.
by Kristy Money, PhD, LP
There are a lot of reasons to get out of the house this week and next.
Some people traveled or found places to gather and watch the FIFA World Cup. Others are watching Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey with their friends and family to witness its rich themes on the sanctity of humanity’s bonds, or what we owe each other (yes, I’m a big nerd and a bigger fan of the director). Here in Utah and across much of the Intermountain West, Pioneer Day is right around the corner: a holiday that, depending on your story, might mean parades, pie and ice cream, family reunions, fireworks, or maybe just trying to avoid State Street.
It’s interesting when you stop and think about it.
None of these experiences have to happen in person anymore.
You could watch the game from your couch.
You could wait until the movie is streaming.
You could skip the parade.
But millions of people won’t.
Because humans have always been drawn to shared experiences.
There’s something about laughing at the same joke as a room full of strangers. Holding your breath during the same scene. Cheering for the same goal. Singing the same song. Sitting around the same table.
We remember those moments because we experienced them together.
We think that’s true professionally, too.
If you’re a psychologist, counselor, social worker, psychiatrist, marriage and family therapist, coach, or graduate student working with LDS, Mormon, post-Mormon, or Mormon-ish clients, you know this work is unique.
You can spend weeks chatting online about faith transitions, religious trauma, mixed-faith marriages, perfectionism, sexuality, identity, family systems, or scrupulosity… and then realize you haven’t talked with another clinician who really understands that work in months.
That’s one of the reasons the Mormon Mental Health Association conference exists.
Sure, you’ll leave with new clinical ideas. You’ll hear researchers who are asking important questions about LDS mental health, Mormon mental health, religious trauma, neurodiversity, sexuality, and the many ways culture shapes our clients’ lives.
But the thing people talk about afterward, that’s what makes it all worth the travel.
It’s the conversations.
Meeting another therapist who’s been wondering the same thing.
Finding a researcher whose work makes you think, Finally, someone is studying this.
Sitting down at lunch and realizing you’re surrounded by people who don’t need a five-minute explanation of why Mormon culture can be a landmine.
Those moments are hard to replicate anywhere else.
If you’ve been to an MMHA conference before, you know what we’re talking about.
If you haven’t, it’s hard to describe.
It’s a little like walking into a room where everyone already speaks one of your professional languages.
You leave with CE credits, absolutely.
But you also leave with new colleagues. New ideas. New friendships. Sometimes new research collaborations. Sometimes just the reassurance that you’re not the only one asking these questions.
In a profession where burnout is real and many of us spend our days giving to other people, that kind of community matters.
Maybe more than we realize.
So while people gather this month for soccer matches, blockbuster movies, and Pioneer Day celebrations, we hope you’ll also make time to gather with your professional community.
Because the conversations you’ll have on July 30–31 might end up being the ones that stay with you the longest.
Join Us July 30–31
The Mormon Mental Health Association Annual Conference brings together clinicians, researchers, educators, and students who care deeply about LDS mental health, Mormon mental health, faith transitions, religious trauma, Mormon culture, and serving LDS, post-Mormon, and Mormon-ish individuals and families with compassion and clinical excellence.
We hope you’ll come learn with us.
But even more than that, we hope you’ll come be part of the conversation.