Our research initiative brings together a diverse group of mental health professionals, researchers, and academics from a broad sociopolitical spectrum. We are dedicated to ethically exploring the unique journeys of individuals with a variety of sexual and gender identities, relationship paths, and experiences with religion and spirituality. Informed by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt's work on the importance of political diversity in social science, and mindful of the potential harms of its absence, we have deliberately assembled a team with a range of ideological perspectives.
While this approach may raise questions among some participants, we trust that such diversity is crucial to fully capture the nuanced complexities and sensitivities of the demographics we study and serve. Each member of our team is deeply committed to supporting the self-determination of sexual and gender minorities and upholds the highest standards of professional ethics, ensuring a thorough and inclusive understanding of these diverse experiences.
With heartfelt thanks to Marybeth Raynes, LMFT, LCSW, and Ron Schow, PhD, for their invaluable contributions to the success of the 2017 survey, the following are the authors of the 2024 survey, listed in alphabetical order by last name:
Kimberly Applewhite is a licensed psychologist at UCEBT, experience in a range of settings, including child advocacy clinics, trauma-informed outpatient settings, acute inpatient/partial hospitalization units, college counseling, foster care, and primary care medical home model. She has research and clinical interests in LGBTQ+ issues and racial stress and trauma. Kimberly is also certified in providing QPR suicide prevention trainings. She received a Doctorate of Psychology in School-Clinical Child Psychology from the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University, focusing on the assessment and treatment of children and families in bio-psycho-social-spiritual contexts, as well as the treatment of ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ populations.
Lee Beckstead is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Salt Lake City since 2004. He was part of the American Psychological Association’s task force from 2007-2009 to evaluate interventions to change sexual orientation and make therapeutic recommendations for those desiring such a change. He conducted two studies investigating LDS/Mormon individuals who tried to change their sexual orientation and what helped and harmed resolution of their conflicts. He is a member of the International Academy of Sex Research and The LGBTQ-Affirmative Psychotherapist Guild of Utah. He is also the lead co-editor for The LGBTQIA+ Peacemaking Book Project.
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Tyler Lefevor is an associate professor of psychology at Utah State University. As a queer man raised LDS, his goal is to understand the mental health implications of gender, sexuality, faith, and their various intersections. He is passionate about creating space for voices of all orientations and life paths to peacefully coexist, as well as understanding how sexual and gender minority Latter-day Saints can flourish and how those around them can help. He also runs a small private therapy practice.
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Ty Mansfield is an assistant professor in Religious Education at Brigham Young University, as well as a practicing marriage and family therapist specializing in marriage, individual and relational sexual health, and sexual and gender identity congruence for faith-based individuals. He is also a co-founder, past president, and current board member of the nonprofit North Star, a faith-based support organization for Latter-day Saint sexual and gender minorities. He has also been part of the Reconciliation and Growth Project, a dialogue group between LGBTQ affirmative and religious conservative mental health professionals who have developed an ethical mental health treatment protocol for working with individuals experiencing conflict between their faith and their sexuality and/or gender identity.
Christopher H. Rosik is a clinical psychologist and director of research at the Link Care Foundation in Fresno, California. He is also a clinical faculty member of Fresno Pacific University. His primary interests include understanding and supporting sexual minorities who desire to prioritize their traditional religious faith, the psychological care of Christian missionaries and clergy, and the treatment of complex PTSD and the dissociative disorders. He has published more than 60 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has served as President of both the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity and the Western Region of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies. He is also a long-time member of the American Psychological Association, the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, and the National Association of Social Workers.
Mark Yarhouse is a clinical psychologist who specializes in conflicts tied to religious identity and sexual and gender identity. He assists people who are navigating the complex relationship between their sexual or gender identity and Christian faith. He is the Dr. Arthur P. and Mrs. Jean May Rech Chair in Psychology at Wheaton College, where he runs the Sexual and Gender Identity (SGI) Institute. He was part of a consensus panel from the American Psychological Association on sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts that convened to provide input to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in Washington, DC. He is currently the Chair of the task force on LGBT issues for Division 36 (Psychology of Religion and Spirituality) of the American Psychological Association.