Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe experiences of sexual abuse survivors have been well documented; however, many complications arise for adult survivors who are religious. There have been no previous studies regarding sexual abuse survivors who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). This qualitative research project sought to explore the questions, "What are the gendered messages that LDS childhood sexual abuse survivors have received, and how have these messages impacted their healing from sexual abuse?" and "What are the healing processes of LDS survivors of childhood sexual abuse?" Twenty-five participants were interviewed as part of a qualitative investigation in a semistructured format with open-ended questions from an emergent grounded theory design. These interviews were transcribed and analyzed to establish themes, which fit under three categories: gendered messages, the spectrum of church experiences, and the spectrum of internalized or rejected shame. A theoretical model illustrating the interaction between church experiences and level of internalized shame is presented along with a description of the four different theorized healing paths. These results are presented, along with the implications for counselors working with LDS sexual abuse survivors, future research directions, and implications for LDS church policies