Issu psychotherapy wh lbian and gay men: A survey of psychologists

Contents:

• GAY THERAPY, GAY THERAPISTS, GAY TREATMENT
• APA’S GUIL FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY WH LBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL CLIENTS: THE FUNDAMENTALS FOR PRACTICE
• 5 THGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GAY CONVERSN THERAPY
• ISSU PSYCHOTHERAPY WH LBIAN AND GAY MEN: A SURVEY OF PSYCHOLOGISTS

GAY THERAPY, GAY THERAPISTS, GAY TREATMENT

This page provis accurate rmatn for those who want to better unrstand sexual orientatn and the impact of prejudice and discrimatn on those who intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual. Public opn studi over the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s routely showed that, among large segments of the public, lbian, gay, and bisexual people were the target of strongly held negative attus. The associatn of HIV/AIDS wh gay and bisexual men and the accurate belief that some people held that all gay and bisexual men were fected served to further stigmatize lbian, gay, and bisexual people.

On an dividual level, such prejudice and discrimatn may also have negative nsequenc, pecially if lbian, gay, and bisexual people attempt to nceal or ny their sexual orientatn.

Dpe the persistence of stereotyp that portray lbian, gay, and bisexual people as disturbed, several s of rearch and clil experience have led all mastream medil and mental health anizatns this untry to nclu that the orientatns reprent normal forms of human experience. Helpful rpons of a therapist treatg an dividual who is troubled about her or his same sex attractns clu helpg that person actively pe wh social prejudic agast homosexualy, succsfully rolve issu associated wh and rultg om ternal nflicts, and actively lead a happy and satisfyg life. The phrase “g out” is ed to refer to several aspects of lbian, gay, and bisexual persons’ experienc: self-awarens of same-sex attractns; the tellg of one or a few people about the attractns; wispread disclosure of same-sex attractns; and intifitn wh the lbian, gay, and bisexual muny.

APA’S GUIL FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY WH LBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL CLIENTS: THE FUNDAMENTALS FOR PRACTICE

Th, is not surprisg that lbians and gay men who feel they mt nceal their sexual orientatn report more equent mental health ncerns than do lbians and gay men who are more open; they may even have more physil health problems. Lbian, gay, and bisexual youth who do well spe strs—like all adolcents who do well spe strs—tend to be those who are socially petent, who have good problem-solvg skills, who have a sense of tonomy and purpose, and who look forward to the future. If they are a heterosexual relatnship, their experienc may be que siar to those of people who intify as heterosexual unls they choose to e out as bisexual; that se, they will likely face some of the same prejudice and discrimatn that lbian and gay dividuals enunter.

5 THGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GAY CONVERSN THERAPY

Although parable data are not available, many sgle lbians and gay men are also parents, and many same-sex upl are part-time parents to children whose primary rince is elsewhere.

For example, are the children of lbian or gay parents more vulnerable to mental breakdown, do they have more behavr problems, or are they ls psychologilly healthy than other children? The picture that emerg om this rearch shows that children of gay and lbian parents enjoy a social life that is typil of their age group terms of volvement wh peers, parents, fay members, and iends.

There is no scientific support for fears about children of lbian or gay parents beg sexually abed by their parents or their parents’ gay, lbian, or bisexual iends or acquatanc. In summary, social science has shown that the ncerns often raised about children of lbian and gay parents, ncerns that are generally ground prejudice agast and stereotyp about gay people, are unfound.

ISSU PSYCHOTHERAPY WH LBIAN AND GAY MEN: A SURVEY OF PSYCHOLOGISTS

Overall, the rearch dit that the children of lbian and gay parents do not differ markedly om the children of heterosexual parents their velopment, adjtment, or overall well-beg. Lbian, gay, and bisexual people who want to help rce prejudice and discrimatn n be open about their sexual orientatn, even as they take necsary preutns to be as safe as possible. When lbians, gay men, and bisexual people feel ee to make public their sexual orientatn, heterosexuals are given an opportuny to have personal ntact wh openly gay people and to perceive them as dividuals.

Antigay attus are far ls mon among members of the populatn who have a close iend or fay member who is lbian or gay, pecially if the gay person has directly e out to the heterosexual person. Although a person’s sexual or romantic orientatn or genr inty may not be a source of distrs, people who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, qutng, asexual, or any other orientatn or genr inty may fd that the social stigma of livg as a mory is a source of strs or anxiety.

Acrdg to a 2007 survey, stunts who intified as lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr were almost ten tim as likely to have experienced bullyg and victimizatn at school and more than twice as likely to have nsired suici as their heterosexual, non-transgenr classmat wh the prev year. Early edns of the Diagnostic and Statistil Manual (DSM) intified homosexualy as a mental disorr, until clil rearch monstrated sexual or romantic attractn to someone of the same genr is a normal, healthy, posive form of human sexualy. In this, the DSM followed a long tradn medice and psychiatry, which the neteenth century appropriated homosexualy om the Church and, what mt have seemed like an élan of enlightenment, promoted om s to mental disorr.