Sexual Identity and Faith: Helping Clients Find Congruence (Spirituality and Mental Health) - Softcover

Yarhouse, Mark A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1599475480 ISBN 13: 9781599475486

Verlag: TEMPLETON FOUNDATION PR, 2019

Inhaltsangabe

Christians who struggle with a conflict between their sexual and religious identities have few therapeutic options available to them. ‘Sexual orientation change efforts’ (SOCE) have rightly fallen out of favor and are no longer practiced by most clinicians. At the same time, the common approach of gay affirmative therapy (GAT) can at times present challenges and may not be a good fit when clients hold to conventional religious beliefs and values.

An alternative to these methods is Sexual Identity Therapy (SIT)—an approach that aims to provide individuals with a safe therapeutic space to explore the tension between their sexuality and their faith. Working within the SIT framework, clients are able to resolve their inner conflict to their personal satisfaction and to freely choose a coherent identity that enables them to move forward in life.

SIT has several stages, each designed to enable the client to make meaning out of his or her same-sex sexuality. At no point in the process is the client encouraged to choose one sexual identity over another. The ultimate goal of SIT is congruence. Congruence is achieved when a person freely adopts an identity and lives it out in ways that are in keeping with his or her beliefs and values. The SIT model is brought to life throughout the book with the help of case studies drawn from the author’s 20 years of experience.

Written for both Christian and non-religious clinicians, Sexual Identity and Faith is an informed, respectful, and nuanced guide to help people navigate the difficult conflict between who they are sexually and what they believe religiously.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Mark A. Yarhouse, PsyD, is the Dr. Arthur P. and Mrs. Jean May Rech Chair in Psychology at Wheaton College. He is also the chair of the task force on LGBT issues for Division 36 (Psychology of Religion and Spirituality) of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Yarhouse has published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and is author or coauthor of several books, including Understanding Sexual Identity: A Resource for Youth Ministry (Zondervan, 2013). 

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Sexual Identity and Faith

Helping Clients Find Congruence

By Mark A. Yarhouse

Templeton Press

Copyright © 2019 Mark A. Yarhouse
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-59947-548-6

Contents

Preface, 
Part One: Overview of Sexual Identity Therapy, 
Chapter 1: Religious Identity and Sexual Identity in Therapy, 
Chapter 2: Assessment, 
Chapter 3: Discussing Sexual Identity Therapy with Clients, 
Part Two: Therapy Tools, 
Chapter 4: A Three-Tier Distinction, 
Chapter 5: Weighted Aspects of Identity, 
Chapter 6: Joining Clients on an Attributional Search for Identity, 
Chapter 7: Identifying Dominant Narratives, 
Chapter 8: Identifying Proscriptive and Prescriptive Constraints, 
Chapter 9: Interviewing the Concern, 
Chapter 10: Recognizing Counternarratives, 
Chapter 11: Chapters in One's Life, 
Chapter 12: Congruence, 
PART THREE: Marriage & Family Therapy: Applying SIT to Specific Groups, 
Chapter 13: Mixed-Orientation Couples, 
Chapter 14: When Youth Come Out: Working with Christian Parents, 
Appendix A: The Sexual Identity Therapy Framework, 
Appendix B: A Case Study of Sexual Identity Therapy, 
Appendix C: A Case Study of a Mixed-Orientation Couple, 
Appendix D: A Case Study of an Adolescent and Family Therapy, 
Notes, 
References, 
Index, 

CHAPTER 1

Religious Identity and Sexual Identity in Therapy

Sienna, age 27, comes to the office and — after a little small talk — shares that she is looking for help with a conflict she's felt for years: "I have felt attracted to other girls since I was maybe 12 or 13. I wasn't sure what it meant, and I didn't dare tell anyone. My family raised me in the church. My dad was an elder; he still is. My mom is also what I guess you'd call a 'strong Christian.' I mean, I am a Christian too; my faith matters to me. Growing up, I knew better than to bring up my attraction to girls. It was a confusing time for me, and in some ways, it still is. Middle school was hard. High school was hard. I guess we can talk about that later. College was better. In college, it felt like if people knew, they wouldn't judge me. But I wasn't sure how to fit my sexuality with my faith or vice versa. After I graduated, I started my career, and that's been fine, I guess. No real drama there. But I feel like I'm having a hard time finding a local church. I don't know what to make of the gay community. I don't see myself at a pride parade. I don't know what to do with my same-sex sexuality. I don't know what to do with my faith. I guess I'd like to talk with you about it."

SIENNA EXPERIENCES a conflict between her religious identity and her sexual identity. She is looking for a place, a therapeutic relationship, where she can navigate that conflict. It goes without saying that some people do not experience such a conflict between religious and sexual minority identity, or they find ways within their existing support system to navigate that conflict without the aid of therapy. But for Sienna and many others, it can be helpful to have a place to discuss both religious and sexual identity and to work out a coherent sense of identity to move forward in life.

It is worth noting that 89% of adults in the United States say they believe in God, and three fourths (77%) of adults identify with a religion (Pew Research Forum, 2015b). Reports of a recent dip in American religiosity cite the rise of the "nones," or those who hold no religious affiliation, a stance especially prominent among millennials (Pew Research Forum, 2015b). Despite this apparently growing minority view, religion continues to be an important part of many people's experience in the United States.

When we look at the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community, we see a drop in religious affiliation, although most (59%) still adhere to a religion. Similarly, while 71% of the general public identifies as Christian, about half (48%) of LGBTQ+ persons identify as Christian (Pew Research Forum, 2015a).

Andrew Marin (2016) of The Marin Foundation, a not-for-profit that has worked to bridge religious faith traditions, especially Christianity, and the LGBTQ+ community, reported on a study of over 2,000 LGB Christians who were asked about their Christian faith and current religious practices. Most of them (86%) indicated they were raised in a faith community, and just over half (54%) left their faith community after age 18. A little over a third (36%) of LGBT people surveyed reported that they continued their faith practices after age 18, and most of these (about two thirds) continued practicing in theologically progressive faith communities, while about a third continued to practice in theologically conservative faith communities. Also, 80% of LGBT people surveyed indicated they regularly pray (regardless of religious identification or affiliation).

Religion will have varying degrees of impact on a person navigating same-sex sexuality or sexual identity. A shared faith tradition does not mean agreement when it comes to LGBTQ+ experiences. One Christian, for instance, may embrace his same-sex sexuality, view it as blessed from God, and pursue a faith community that shares this perspective. Another Christian may view same-sex sexuality as an experience that God did not intend for her and choose to forego same-sex relationships as a result.

What is particularly important is how clinicians navigate these potential differences with their clients. What does it mean to explore both religious identity and sexual identity in therapy?

Religious Identity and Sexual Identity In Therapy

The approach to care presented in this book is referred to as Sexual Identity Therapy (SIT). It follows the Sexual Identity Therapy Framework (SITF; Throckmorton & Yarhouse, 2006) and has been discussed in various forms for individual (Yarhouse, 2008) and group therapy (Yarhouse & Beckstead, 2011). SIT and the SITF were both cited in the 2009 American Psychological Association (APA) task force report on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation as examples of identity-focused alternatives to sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE). Before we look more at SIT, let's look at the 2009 task force report.

The task force report was primarily focused on whether SOCE should be considered a viable therapeutic option when a person reports unwanted same-sex attraction. The task force provided a fairly extensive review of the extant research and concluded that "enduring change to an individual's sexual orientation [is] unlikely" (APA, 2009, p. 4). Interestingly, however, the task force also noted that the support clients received in such therapies had some perceived benefits. For example, when clients attempted to change their orientation, they perceived benefits in approaches that "emphasize acceptance, support, and recognition of important values and concerns" (APA, 2009, p. 4).

At the same time, gay affirmative therapy, which is in many ways the default posture clinicians take toward sexual minorities, may not be a good fit for all clients. In particular, clients who hold conventional religious beliefs and values may not feel the posture of gay affirmative therapy to be a supportive one for their own needs, depending on how such therapy is practiced. Gay affirmative therapy is not so much a protocol as a way of seeing a person's sexuality. In practice, gay affirmative therapy can at times assume a preferred identity outcome (e.g., gay) and same-sex sexual...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: TEMPLETON FOUNDATION PR
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2019
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1599475480
• ISBN 13: 9781599475486
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 280
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar