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Mormon Stories Podcast

566: Psychologist Dr. Scott Miller on Missions, Mormon Transitions, and Thriving After Mormonism

Mormon Stories Podcast

Dr. John Dehlin

Religion & Spirituality

4.55.7K Ratings

🗓️ 10 September 2015

⏱️ 83 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Scott-D-MillerIn this episode we interview Dr. Scott Miller.  Aside from being a world-renowned psychologist, Scott recently penned a fabulous book about his mission experience to Sweden in the 1970s.  The book is called "The Book of a Mormon: The Real Life and Strange Times of an LDS Missionary."

In this episode Scott discusses:

  • His early years in the church.
  • His mission experience to Sweden in the 1970s.
  • His path out of Mormonism after returning from his mission.
  • His work as a psychologist today.
  • His recommendations for healthy Mormon transitions, and for thriving as a post-Mormon.

In one month we will be re-launching "Mormon Stories Book Club," and will invite Dr. Miller back to Mormon Stories to discuss his book, along with former Swedish Area Authority Hans Mattsson and a panel of other listeners/readers.  If you are interested in the book, or in being part of the book club discussion, please purchase it at Amazon.com, read it over the coming weeks, please consider writing an Amazon review for the book, and then join us for our discussion of the book in one month's time.  Can't wait!

 

 

 

Transcript

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0:00.0

Mormon Stories is a production of the Open Stories Foundation and relies solely upon the support of people like you, its listeners.

0:07.0

To help keep the podcast alive or to become a member of the community, please become a monthly subscriber by visiting MormonStories.org and clicking on the Donate button on the right side of the page under Support.

0:19.0

All contributions to Mormon Stories are completely tax deductible and go towards producing the podcast and building communities and programs of support for Mormons Like You.

0:29.0

Thanks for your support.

0:32.0

The Conqueror's Office

0:47.0

Hello and welcome to another edition of Mormon Stories podcast. I'm your host John DeLin.

0:52.0

We're coming to you on September 3rd, 2015.

0:57.0

And I have to say this is an episode that's just super exciting for me. It's one that I've been looking forward to for several years and I'll just get right to it.

1:09.0

Today we're interviewing Dr. Scott Miller. I first learned of Scott Miller when I was accepted to a PhD program in psychology and I started reading up on psychology and I learned about this guy, kind of a world class psychologist, telling therapists that

1:26.0

some of the most important things that psychologists could attend to were things that really had nothing necessarily to do with the mode of psychology treatment itself.

1:36.0

And these traits are called the common factors and they have to do with things like listening well, positive regard, empathy, belief and conviction in one's mode of therapy.

1:48.0

And what Scott was basically saying was that the style or the mode or the clinical intervention that you choose as a psychotherapist maybe isn't as important as just some of those basic human skills that we all know are super important.

2:04.0

Now we're going to have Scott correct where I got that wrong. But that was really revolutionary to me at the time because I was just about to join a program that was a clinical psychology program.

2:15.0

And it was all about the intervention. And so that's when I first learned about Scott, but then later Scott was invited to give a lecture in Logan as sort of a world class specialist and then his focus was on helping therapists become the best possible therapist they could be.

2:37.0

And I noticed in Scott's CV in his resume that he had graduated. I believe undergraduate from BYU is that right Scott?

2:47.0

That's right. And then it got his PhD at the University of Utah. Is that right?

2:51.0

That is right.

2:52.0

Yeah, so so I was like, wow, this is a world class psychologist literally known all over the world, mentioned in every psychology textbook or sort of, you know, curriculum that I had been involved with.

3:06.0

And he came out of Utah. So after Scott's lecture in Logan a few years back, I was able to have lunch with them. And I talked to Scott a bit. And it turns out that Scott Miller, Dr. Scott Miller also was raised LDS.

3:23.0

And at the time he told me about this really cool book. He was finishing up about his mission of sort of a mission memoir of his time in Sweden. And I got really excited about it. And so Scott and I have kept in touch. And, you know, this month, Scott's ready to release his book called The Book of Immormon. Is that right Scott?

3:46.0

That's right. The real life and strange times of an LDS missionary.

3:50.0

Yeah. And, you know, I've read I've read probably a few Mormon memoirs over the past few years, specifically I can think of Elna Baker's memoir, join a Brooks's memoir and Ryan McElvain's memoir. And this, this, this is this book in my opinion is every bit worthy to stand toe to toe.

...

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