LGBTQ+ Affirmative Therapy To Improve Self-Acceptance| Gay Therapy Center

Contents:

• GAY AFFIRMATIVE COGNIVE BEHAVRAL THERAPY FOR SEXUAL MORY YOUTH: A CLIL ADAPTATN
• ISSU PSYCHOTHERAPY WH LBIAN AND GAY MEN: A SURVEY OF PSYCHOLOGISTS
• HANDBOOK OF COUNSELG AND PSYCHOTHERAPY WH LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR CLIENTS, SEND EDN
• EMBRACE YOUR TE SELF WH GAY AFFIRMATIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY

GAY AFFIRMATIVE COGNIVE BEHAVRAL THERAPY FOR SEXUAL MORY YOUTH: A CLIL ADAPTATN

Specifilly, the thors: (a) discs the impact of mory strs on SMY; (b) highlight the specific ponents of CBT that reprent a good f for SMY and also addrs the cricisms of g such an approach; (c) nsir the importance of g gay affirmative practic wh SMY; and (d) offer remendatns for rporatg gay affirmative practic to tradnal CBT mols to better meet the needs of SMY.

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

IntroductnSexual mory youth (SMY), a term creasgly ed to scribe young people who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ) (Center for Disease Control and Preventn 2011), are at higher risk for mood, anxiety, and substance abe disorrs than youth who intify as heterosexual (Fergson et al. Specifilly, the thors will: (a) discs the impact of mory strs on SMY; (b) highlight the specific ponents of CBT that reprent a good f for SMY and also addrs the cricisms of g such an approach; (c) nsir the importance of g gay affirmative practic wh SMY; and (d) offer remendatns for rporatg gay affirmative practic to tradnal CBT approach to better meet the needs of SMY. In ntrast, proponents of CBT assert that such terventns empower lbian, gay, bisexual, or qutng dividuals and other vulnerable populatns (Eamon 2008; Hays 2009), bee the approach prepar clients to al effectively wh emotnal, social, and environmental challeng, which are cril ponents of empowerment (Saleebey 2002; Townsend et al.

Specifilly, Eamon (2008) suggts that CBT creas lbian, gay, and bisexual clients’ abily to: (a) achieve and protect their own physil, mental and sexual health, (b) pe wh their sexual inty and negotiate the g out procs, and (c) tablish social support and posive relatnships. Th, we suggt that CBT for SMY n be enhanced by rporatg gay affirmative Affirmative PracticeGay affirmative practice is not an pennt practice approach; is ed to enhance a practner’s existg treatment mol and n be rporated to dividual, uple, fay, and group work (Davi 1996). Acrdg to Crisp and McCave (2007), gay affirmative practice is particularly well-sued for social work practice wh SMY bee : (a) foc on affirmg sexual mory inti; (b) empowers youth g the strengths perspective; (c) supports self-termatn; (d) helps youth intify homophobic forc their liv; (e) nsirs problems the ntext of the homophobia and discrimatn that youth experience; (f) enurag SMY to engage nscns raisg to challenge homophobic fluenc; and (g) n be ed the variety of settgs which SMY receive social work servic, such as schools, rintial facili, and outpatient treatment settgs.

Followg a discsn of the mol, the thors prent a se example to monstrate the e of gay affirmative CBT wh a the Inti of SMY Durg the Asssment ProcsAsssment clarifi the client’s needs, rms the directn of treatment, and provis a startg pot for iatg behavral change.

HANDBOOK OF COUNSELG AND PSYCHOTHERAPY WH LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR CLIENTS, SEND EDN

Gay affirmative practice foc on intifyg external strsors; fg the practic to tradnal CBT terventns ensur the suabily of this approach for Environmentally-Based Problems, Help Clients Make Chang that Decrease Strs, Increase Personal Strengths and Supports, and to Build Their Skills for Interactg wh the Social EnvironmentCBT wh SMY n help them al wh strsful suatns, even if they are unable to change their environment. Usg this method nveys that the practner is different than other adults who have mimized the client’s problem or even rejected the client for beg lbian, gay, or Cognive Rtcturg, Qutn the Helpfulns (Rather than the Validy) of the Thought or BeliefQutng whether a thought is irratnal or valid may be terpreted by some SMY as unempathic or naïve. If you’re fdg difficult to love yourself or accept who you are as gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr, non-bary, or any other sexual or genr inty, we enurage you to embrace an affirmative pot of view wh the help of our fully licensed LGBTQ+ therapists.

In 1975, the Amerin Psychologil Associatn (APA) took a strong stance regardg bias toward lbians and gay men, rolvg that "homosexualy per se impli no impairment judgment, reliabily or general social and votnal abili" (see Appendix A for the full text of the rolutn). Regnizg that practice do not spontaneoly or quickly follow policy chang, the Commtee on Lbian and Gay Concerns (CLGC), sponsored jotly by the Board of Social and Ethil Rponsibily Psychology (BSERP) and the Board of Profsnal Affairs (BPA), formed a task force 1984 to vtigate the range of bias that may occur psychotherapy wh lbians and gay men. The missn of CLGC's Task Force on Bias Psychotherapy wh Lbians and Gay Men was to scribe the range of problems that gay male and lbian clients n face psychotherapy and to provi an empiril basis for the velopment of guil and suggtns for practice.

The goal was to clu psychologists who, regardls of their own sexual orientatn, would be likely to have knowledge of the provisn of psychotheraptic servic to gay male and lbian clients, as well as gay male and lbian psychologists who may themselv have received psychotheraptic servic. To ensure a rponse rate aquate for analysis, we ed 1986 APA membership rolls to survey all members, fellows, and associat of Divisns 44 (Society for the Psychologil Study of Gay and Lbian Issu) and 35 (Psychology of Women), and a random sample of 4, 000 licensed members of APA (balanced by genr) who were not members of eher of those divisns. Task force members nsolidated the rults om the four separate work groups and anized all materials to three broad tegori: strategi of terventn, issu of special relevance to lbian and gay male populatns, and issu about therapists' expertise and trag.

EMBRACE YOUR TE SELF WH GAY AFFIRMATIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY

I have seen several gay patients and each se the person reported that even though their prev therapist said that he or she accepted their homosexualy; the therapist ntued to foc upon their beg gay as the problem rather than upon what the person sought help for such as relatnship problems, trouble handlg guilt about wh fay or work, general social anxiety, or other problems totally unrelated to beg gay. A therapist lacks unrstandg of the nature of lbian and gay male inty velopment, for example by nsirg a gay male or lbian inty possible only for adults, by viewg lbian or gay male inty solely terms of sexual behavr, or by terpretg a client's gay male or lbian inty as a Aphase that will be outgrown:. A therapist unrtimat the importance of timate relatnships for gay men and lbians, for example by failg to support the matenance of or enuragg dissolutn of a client's relatnship solely bee is a homosexual relatnship, or by failg to provi or remend upl or fay therapy when would be the most appropriate terventn:.

A lbian uple, seekg relatnship therapy, was advised that such therapy was not applible to their "type of relatnship, " that should not be nsired a permanent relatnship, and that they might nsir gog to gay bars to meet other people like themselv. A therapist prum a client is a poor or appropriate parent solely on the basis of a gay or lbian sexual orientatn, for example by tomatilly attributg a child's problems to his or her parent(s) beg lbian or gay whout evince that this is so, or by opposg child ctody to such parents on the grounds that their sexual orientatn self mak them unf:. Fifty eight percent of the psychologists surveyed knew of negative cints, cludg s which practners fed lbians or gay men as Asick and need of change, and stanc which a client's sexual orientatn distracted a therapist om treatg the person's central problem.

Important issu not addrsed this study clu AIDS; the potential visibily and plex disclosure issu of gay male and lbian clients durg therapy; genr differenc the therapy experienc of gay men and lbians; the possible relevance of the therapist's own sexual orientatn; specific issu for gay and lbian therapists (e. Homosexualy, per se, impli no impairment judgment, stabily, reliabily, or general social or votnal pabili: Further, the Amerin Psychologil Associatn urg all mental health profsnals to take the lead removg the stigma of mental illns that has long been associated wh homosexual orientatns.