Ashley Buckner, LMFT
LMFT sharing consent, boundaries, and healthy communication—useful in parenting and family life.
Reject Mormon Rules, Achieve Your Dreamed Life
What would I say to my younger self growing up in Mormonism? You are going to achieve the life you’ve always dreamed of by not following any of their rules.
Reclaiming Autonomy: Healing After High‑Control Religious Control
Healing from a high control religion looks like: Questioning what you were told not to question. Recognizing control that was framed as truth + safety. Feeling anger without labeling it “wrong.” Grieving what it cost you to stay… and what it cost you to leave. Learning...
Therapists Discussing Religious Trauma Are Ethical, Not Religion
What people think is unethical: Therapists talking openly about religious trauma and helping people heal. What’s actually unethical: High Control Religion
Listen and Love, Not Defend, when Faith Doubts
When your child questions their faith, this is what they need to hear: I love you. Thank you for trusting me with this. I believe you. How are you doing? Tell me more. I’m here for you. How you show up here matters more than defending a belief ever...
Leaving the LDS Church: Painful, Isolating, Yet Necessary
I have yet to encounter anyone who has left the LDS Church and described their choice as “easy.” More often, they tell me how painful the decision was. How much easier it would have been to stay. They wrestle with what happens when a religion teaches that those...
Belonging Should Be Unconditional, Not Earned
You can’t say “families are forever” and then make belonging something you have to earn.
Healing Requires Both Context and Personal Accountability
As a trauma therapist in Utah, I want to make something explicitly clear: Recognizing the impact Mormonism has on development and mental health does not remove personal accountability. Both can be true. You can be shaped in significant ways— and still be responsible for how...
Leaving Mormonism Requires Work, Not Just Walking Away
Just finished listening to Jessi on Call Her Daddy and I have a lot of thoughts—but this one really stood out: You can take yourself out of Mormonism… but if you don’t do the work, Mormonism doesn’t leave you. Jordan is the proof.
Find Peace by Shedding Others' Expectations
Some of the most peaceful moments in life happen after you stop trying to be who everyone else expects you to be.
Skip Church Worthiness Interviews to Protect Children
Private worthiness interviews between a child and an untrained church leader are not developmentally appropriate and can create shame, confusion, and distress. When children are asked about sexual behavior or “worthiness,” it teaches them that their value is conditional and that...
Own Your Healing, Not Your Trauma
Things shifted for me when I realized this: I am not responsible for my trauma. I am responsible for my healing.