Faith Transition & Faith Crisis Counseling

Maybe it started with a question you couldn’t quite set down. Maybe it was a slow drift, or something that happened all at once. Now the beliefs that once held everything together feel uncertain, and you may not know who you can talk to about it. A faith transition, sometimes called a crisis of faith, can be disorienting, lonely, and sometimes frightening, especially when your family, friendships, and community are built around the same beliefs. At Greenstone Counseling, our therapists offer a private place to sort through it without being pushed in any direction. You can meet with us in Rexburg or Pocatello, or online anywhere in Idaho.

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What a faith transition can feel like

People describe it in many ways:

“I’m going through the motions at church and I don’t know what I actually believe.”
“I feel guilty for even asking these questions.”
“I miss who I was when everything felt certain.”
“I’m afraid of what this will do to my marriage and my family.”
“I’ve lost my sense of purpose, or my community, or both.”
“I don’t know if I’m leaving, staying, or somewhere in between.”

A crisis of faith can bring grief, anger, relief, shame, and fear, sometimes all in the same week. It can also affect sleep, mood, and your sense of who you are. None of that means something is wrong with you. It often means something important is being reconsidered.

When it affects your family and community

Beliefs are rarely private. When one person’s faith shifts, it can change how a marriage works, how you parent, how you show up at family gatherings, and how you’re seen by people you’ve known your whole life. You may be the one questioning, or the spouse, parent, or child of someone who is. Both positions are hard, and both are welcome here.

Counseling without a set outcome

A faith transition therapist’s job isn’t to take a side. It’s to help you work through what you’re struggling with and find your own way forward. We don’t have a preferred outcome for you. Some people stay in their faith, some leave, some change how they practice, and many are still figuring it out. Our role is to help you understand where the hurt is and how you want to move forward, in a way that’s truly yours.

Some people carry more than questions. If you experienced fear-based teaching, shaming, spiritual abuse, or pressure that left lasting harm, that may be religious trauma. Our trauma and EMDR therapy page explains how we provide religious trauma counseling, and the two often overlap.

Understanding the place you live

Our therapists know southeast Idaho, and Idaho more broadly, where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes called Mormonism, is the predominant faith. You won’t have to explain the culture, the language, or what it means to live in a community where faith touches nearly everything before you can get to what you’re feeling.

Our team also reflects the range of experiences people bring. Some of our therapists grew up in the Church and no longer practice. Some are members with nuanced beliefs, some are faithful, practicing members, and some were never members at all. What they share is a commitment to respecting where you are, whatever that is. Faith transitions happen in every tradition, and people of any background are welcome.

Who we help

Faith transition counseling at Greenstone is for individuals, couples, and families. We work with people on this subject all the time, including when one person’s faith is changing and the people around them are trying to understand. Which therapist is the best fit depends on your situation, so the easiest step is to call. We’ll talk through what’s going on and match you with the right person, and you can have a free 15 to 20 minute consultation to see who feels like the best fit.

Rexburg and Pocatello: In-person faith crisis counseling is available at both offices.

Online across Idaho: Online faith transition counseling is available anywhere in the state, which many people prefer for privacy. Clients in Idaho Falls and Ammon often choose this option, and some come in person.

Some of our therapists work with older teens and adults only, so call us and we’ll help match you with the right person.

Finding the right fit

We understand that a good fit is crucial, especially on a subject this personal. That’s why we offer a free consultation, usually 15 to 20 minutes. You can talk with a therapist, or a couple of them, to see who feels like the best fit.

How the therapy works

Counseling here starts with understanding, not conclusions. Your therapist will help you look at three things:

How much distress you’re carrying around religious things. For some people it’s mild unease, and for others it affects sleep, relationships, and daily life. Knowing where you are shapes everything that follows.
Whether trauma is part of the picture. Your therapist will gently explore whether harmful experiences in a religious setting are part of what you’re feeling, because that changes what kind of support helps.
What matters most to you. Identifying your core values gives you something steady to navigate by, even when your beliefs feel uncertain.

From there, the work is paced around you and matched to the person. Internal Family Systems (IFS) can help when different parts of you want different things, such as the part that wants to stay and the part that wants out. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) helps you make room for grief, guilt, and fear while you move toward what you value, and mindfulness and polyvagal-informed work can help when those feelings show up in your body. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) looks at the beliefs about yourself that a faith transition can stir up, such as “I’m a bad person for doubting,” and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) offers skills for the intense emotions that can come with it. Solution-focused and person-centered therapy keep the work practical and centered on you, not on any agenda. When painful experiences within a religious setting are part of the picture, EMDR may help.

What your first session looks like

The first session covers informed consent, confidentiality, and our practice policies. Every new client also completes intake paperwork, including a questionnaire about early life experiences, and your therapist will talk through anything significant. After that, it’s a chance to tell your story at your own pace and say what you’re hoping for. You won’t be asked to defend or explain your beliefs, and you don’t have to know what you want the outcome to be.

Privacy and confidentiality

Privacy matters a great deal when beliefs are tied to family and community. We protect your information under HIPAA and Idaho law. We share it only with your consent, except in limited situations the law requires or allows, which your therapist will explain at your first session. For clients under 18, Idaho law says parents and legal guardians generally give consent before counseling begins, and they have rights to information about that care.

You can use insurance or pay privately. If you use insurance, your insurer receives a claim with a clinical diagnosis. It may also send statements to the plan’s primary policyholder showing the provider, dates of service, and amounts billed. If that’s a concern, private pay avoids insurance statements. Call us before your first visit and we’ll walk through your options. Telehealth is also available if meeting from a place that feels private is easier for you.

Our faith transition therapists

Rexburg

Pocatello

Kimberly Leishman, LCPC, older teens and adults
Laura Wolter, LCPC
Shanon Kaneko, LPC
Dana Facer, Clinical Intern, completing her hours toward Idaho licensure under the clinical supervision of Erika Nordfelt
Valinda Mikesell, LPC, older teens and adults (in Pocatello some days)

Every one of our clinicians, in both offices, also offers telehealth throughout Idaho.

Related services

Trauma & EMDR Therapy: For religious trauma and the effects of painful experiences.
Marriage & Couples Counseling: When a shift in one partner’s faith is affecting the marriage.

Questions people ask

It’s a period when your beliefs, your relationship to your faith, or your place in a religious community feel shaken or uncertain. It can be gradual or sudden, and it often brings grief, fear, and questions about identity.
It’s the process of changing your relationship with your faith. That might mean leaving, staying with changes, or finding a different way of believing. It isn’t a single decision, and there’s no required direction.
No. Your therapist’s job isn’t to take a side. It’s to help you understand where you’re hurting and decide how you want to move forward.
Our team includes therapists who’ve left the Church, therapists who are members with nuanced beliefs, therapists who are faithful, practicing members, and therapists who were never members. All of them are committed to meeting you where you are. If you’d like help finding the right fit, call us and we’ll match you with someone, and you can have a free 15 to 20 minute consultation before you decide.
They overlap, but they aren’t the same thing. You can question your faith without having been harmed by it, and you can experience religious trauma while still believing. Our therapists work with both.
No. Many people begin counseling precisely because they aren’t certain.
What you share in therapy is protected under HIPAA and Idaho law, and we share it only with your consent, except in limited situations the law requires or allows. If you use insurance, your insurer may send statements to the plan’s primary policyholder showing the provider, dates of service, and amounts billed, and private pay avoids that. If privacy at home is a concern, tell us when you call and we’ll walk through your options.
Yes. We work with couples and families on this subject often. Which therapist is the best fit depends on your situation, so call us and we’ll match you with the right person.
Yes. Many people from Idaho Falls and Ammon meet with us online, which can feel more private, and some come to our Rexburg or Pocatello offices. Call us and we’ll help you choose.
Yes. Online faith transition counseling is available anywhere in Idaho.
We’re in network with most major insurance companies, and private pay is also an option. Before your first visit, we’ll complete a free insurance benefit check. We’ll contact your insurance company and share what they tell us about your mental health coverage. This gives you an estimate of your coverage, not a guarantee, so we also encourage you to call your insurer and confirm your own mental health benefits.
Dana Facer is a clinical intern completing her licensure hours under the supervision of Erika Nordfelt. Clients who see Dana receive paperwork that explains her intern status and supervision. We can bill only a couple of insurance companies for intern sessions. Otherwise, sessions with Dana are $30 each.