Gay Coupl Therapy: A Way to Avoid Same-Sex Divorce | Psychology Today

Contents:

• LBIAN UPLE W IVF ‘GAY TAX’ BATTLE
• GAY COUPL THERAPY: A WAY TO AVOID SAME-SEX DIVORCE
• GAY MALE COUPL COUPLE THERAPY
• INTEGRATIVE BEHAVRAL COUPLE THERAPY WH GAY MEN
• GAY COUPL COUNSELG – CONSIR THERAPY TREATMENT

LBIAN UPLE W IVF ‘GAY TAX’ BATTLE

A lbian uple who lnched a legal battle over equali IVF treatment between heterosexual and same-sex upl have dropped their fight after their lol re board pledged to make treatment sts media fluencers Megan and Whney Ban-Evans lnched a landmark “gay tax” discrimatn se after NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board (ICB) said same-sex upl, sgle women and upl unable to have vagal terurse would have to pay for 12 rounds of IVF before qualifyg for NHS assistance. Gay male upl tend to rely on social exchange (like dog thgs for one another) rather than on emotnal or relatnal factors for mutual satisfactn.

Conversely, some lbians and gay men are terrified if relatnships bee too close, sce this remds them of the suffotg closets of their earlier liv. A profsnal mental healthre provir will be a sensive clician, fully aware of the pfalls of tradnal heterosexual bias, and will treat a lbian or gay uple an appropriate fashn.

There are no unique treatments for same-sex upl and the methods ed wh heterosexual upl n be ed for gay and lbian pairs. Gay and lbian issu will be addrsed somewhat differently, as certa life strsors may play more of a role for a male uple than a female uple, and vice versa. For example, lbians often experience more anxiety than gay men regardg reactns of fay members to their sexualy.

GAY COUPL THERAPY: A WAY TO AVOID SAME-SEX DIVORCE

Conversely, gay men report more strs surroundg HIV/AIDS-related issu and vlence and harassment than do lbian upl. As we celebrate the legalizatn of same-sex marriage the US, the thought of gay divorce uld be a real party killer. Am I on the road to beg a gay divorceé?

While gay upl will face many of the same trials and tribulatns of their heterosexual unterparts, three challeng distguish their experience: pg wh mory strs; rolvg relatnal ambiguy the areas of mment, boundari, and genr-lked behavrs; and velopg fai of choice (Green and Mchell 2002). One aspect of mory strs is alg wh homophobia. Homophobia is the dislike of and prejudice agast gay people that often tak the form of emotnal, physil, and psychologil harassment, abe, and vlence.

The valug of heterosexual culture and the implic otherg and nigratn of gay culture, tentnal or not, n lead to the ternalizatn of homophobia and heterosexism gay men, somethg lled ternalized homophobia/heterosexism/stigma.

GAY MALE COUPL COUPLE THERAPY

This happens when gay men, due to beg steeped a culture that don’t always value their experience, starts to ternalize negative ias about themselv and the legimacy of their sexual inty. Bee the unprocsed feelgs n occur one, both, or between partners, is important for the uple and fay therapist to be able to intify and unrstand the effects of homophobic and heterosexist experienc gay upl (Bepko and Johnson 2000). Mory strs is exacerbated by the fact that, until more recently, there have not been many proment role mols for gay upl to unrstand the ways that gay relatnships may work, somethg lled “relatnal ambiguy” (Green and Mchell 2002).

Unls a gay person curat their mass media nsumptn refully, they may not be exposed to different narrativ for how to obta, iate, velop, mata, and functn a gay relatnship. In gay male relatnships, the genr siari of partners may affect the negotiatn of boundari and the regulatn closens and distance, alg wh dividual differenc, as the thgs are mediated by genr (Tunnell and Greenan 2004).

Boundary issu specific to gay upl n clu whether or not their inty as gay men is known to iends, fai, or -workers. Addnally, sexual agreements related to non-monogamy mt also be negotiated given the monplace nature of the agreements gay male upl. As for genr role, gay men may have been socialized more tradnal forms of masculy that value pennce, stoicism, and stmentaly.

INTEGRATIVE BEHAVRAL COUPLE THERAPY WH GAY MEN

When the two men sharg affectn happen to be gay, their ternalizatn of tradnal genr role valu may make difficult to do so bee of the shame and stigma that might be associated wh a non-mascule behavr. Addnally, relatnships between men, gay or straight, are often assumed to be petive and terrorial. While this may be an overstatement, the genr role socializatn of gay men n have a signifint effect on their abily to be share affectn wh each other.

Gay male upl may also stggle wh promise related to nflict, as promise is not nsired part of tradnal mascule there are a lack of appropriate scripts for gay male relatnships, one uld look at the absence of such scripts as an opportuny to creatively nstct the relatnal boundari and agreements of a relatnship a way that more closely rembl personal wants and needs rather than by g cumbersome heterosexual prcriptns. While the recent advanc marriage legislatn and the crease barriers related to same-sex parentg allow gay and lbian upl to -opt a tradnally heterosexual relatnship narrative, some wonr whether or not this is a good nsirg how to approach LGBT clients therapy, one mt keep md the dark history of mental health treatment.

GAY COUPL COUNSELG – CONSIR THERAPY TREATMENT

Up until 1973, homosexualy was nsired a diagnosable mental illns that mental health practners attempted rrect by enuragg and rercg a heterosexual inty. Gay male clients may be unrstandably weary of engagg the theraptic procs. Not surprisgly, the first step to workg wh gay upl is to be able to monstrate an active acceptance and valug of the gay most important characteristic that a therapist n velop orr to work effectively wh gay upl is the therapist’s own fort wh romantic and sexual feelgs between two men (Green and Mchell 2002).

Examg one’s own morals and valu related to homosexualy is imperative termg whether or not one n and should work wh gay male upl.