A sex therapist who publicly challenged her church’s teachings on sexuality has been expelled as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to a letter she received Wednesday.

Natasha Helfer, 49, who has been a national face for mental health advocacy among Mormons and attracted an audience especially among more progressive Mormons and ex-Mormons for her frankness around sex, came under fire from her church’s leadership in recent months.

Helfer believes that the church has targeted the mental health profession, while the LDS Church maintains that she was expelled because of her public opposition to the church.

“It was so ridiculous. I was treated like I was at a club with a bouncer in it,” Helfer said when they didn’t let her into the council with her phone. “I did not plead or beg.”