Crisis of faith support group seeks to help USU students

Utah State University students who are questioning their faith now have a place to express their concerns without being judged.

Monday, USU’s Counseling and Psychological Services, or CAPS, had its first crisis of faith support group, which seeks to help students who are questioning what they believe.

John Dehlin, a PhD candidate for USU’s combined psychology program and co-founder of the group, said it seeks to help anyone going through a faith crisis, which he defined as any kind of distress or familial conflict related to a change in that person’s religious beliefs. He said this is particularly common in a university setting.

“The university experience is a very natural time for people to be questioning their identity, even questioning their beliefs, and to be experiencing transition,” Dehlin said. “It’s very common for us to see clients who are either doubting their religious faith, who have decided to leave it, or who are questioning things like their own sexual identity, and they need support to help navigate that transition.”

Steven Lucero, a clinical psychologist who works at CAPS and co-founder of the support group, said faith crises often come from events that challenge people’s beliefs or worldviews.

Though faith crises can cause distress, Lucero said they are not necessarily bad.

“If anything, they’re more of a fork in the road either to spiritual growth and rejuvenation or sometimes towards maybe spiritual struggles and pain at times,” Lucero said.

Dehlin said he and Lucero started the support group because it was common for people to come into CAPS and talk about their struggles with faith.

“Instead of dealing with it on an individual basis, we thought bringing groups together would allow us to treat more people more efficiently, but also allow the support group to provide mutual support to each other,” Dehlin said.

Dehlin said helping people who are undergoing a faith crisis is in line with what CAPS normally does: helping people with anxiety, depression, interpersonal conflict and identity concerns.

“When someone’s experiencing a faith crisis, all four of those things are very common,” he said. “It definitely can lead to serious depression, definitely causes — in many cases — severe anxiety. It can really stress one’s relationships both with parents, with siblings, with spouse, with extended family, friends, and it causes a significant disruption in one’s identity.”

Lucero said he and Dehlin’s backgrounds are a good resource for people undergoing a faith crisis. Dehlin has been involved with considerable research of other’s faith crises within the LDS church, and Lucero has dealt with how religion can be both a source for positive and negative aspects.

Dehlin said he and Lucero have a neutral stance on whether or not their clients stay or leave their religion. He said their role is to be supportive of their clients’ exploration of experiences and their final decision about religious affiliation.

Dehlin said he hopes more participants will come in the future. Anyone who is undergoing a faith crisis of any kind is welcome to come to the meetings, which take place every Monday from 1:30 to 3 pm in room 310 B of the Taggart Student Center.