Counseling Sexual and Gender Minorities


Book Description

COUNSELING SEXUAL AND GENDER MINORITIESLynne Carroll This text is a practical, accessible, and comprehensive resource on counseling sexual and gender minorities. It offers readers broad and inclusive coverage of current theory, research, and counseling applications for use with sexual and gender minority clients. With an emphasis on applying theory to practice, the book contains experimental learning activities, practical resources, current strategies, and interdisciplinary insights, making this text a vital resource for students seeking complete training in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered counseling issues. UNIQUE FEATURES Coverage of sexual as well as gender minorities helps students learn to counsel clients who are not only gay, lesbian, or bisexual, but also transgendered or transsexual. Coverage of advocacy and social justice empowers readers with specific strategies to participate in social advocacy for marginalized minorities. Case studies located throughout the book allow students to understand practical applications of theory through real-life examples. An array of creative learning activities, including film assignments with corresponding discussion questions, self-reflection exercises, and role-playing activities, promote self-reflection and critical thinking about issues that are the source of continued debate and controversy in the helping professions. WHAT REVIEWERS HAVE TO SAY" ""This text will transform the education of students who work with GLBT issues by prioritizing the T as well as the GLB. This is a volume rich with the latest research and clearly articulated approaches to working with LGBT clients. In addition, this text is inclusive of all types of helping professions, including counseling, social work, and psychology... It presents current controversies in an unbiased fashion, opening up the way for students to reflect, discuss, and determine for themselves where they fall with debates.""--Sharon Horne, University of Memphis" "The inclusion of both sexual and gender minorities makes this text really stand out, as well as its attention to diverse subpopulations including youth, couples, and families.""--Julie Ancis, Georgia State University" "The activities are excellent-the self-reflection activities, case studies, and the library, media, and Internet resources. These are used in an excellent manner to allow the reader to apply the material. Individuals using this text would be able to incorporate these activities into their classroom lessons, workshop presentations, and group/individual counseling situations.""--Tony Cawton, Clemson University"




Handbook of Evidence-Based Mental Health Practice with Sexual and Gender Minorities


Book Description

"This book provides important information to mental health clinicians about doing treatment with sexual and gender minorities, but following evidenced-based care. Evidenced-based practice is important because in mental health treatment, it is important for therapy to actually work. This book provides practical up-to-date information about adapting and using evidenced based treatments for sexual and gender minority clients"--




Contextual Behavior Therapy for Sexual and Gender Minority Clients


Book Description

Combining theory, research, and case studies, this book shows clinicians how to apply transdiagnostic contextual behavioral approaches when working with sexual and gender minority (SGM) clients. The text first examines minority stress theory through the lens of contextual behavior analysis. Subsequent chapters illustrate the application of therapeutic techniques drawn from acceptance and commitment therapy, functional analytic psychotherapy, and compassion-focused therapy. The book concludes with a close look at special areas of consideration, including pre-surgical evaluation, the impact of HIV on SGM communities, ethical considerations, and future directions in therapy with SGM clients. Every chapter provides a series of diverse vignettes that illustrate how each aspect of treatment might build upon the last along with a list of recommended books for further exploration of that topic. This book offers a unique, integrated approach that can be used for case conceptualization and followed as a treatment manual for professionals or graduate students with a foundation in SGM psychology.




Mindfulness and Acceptance for Gender and Sexual Minorities


Book Description

As more clinicians train in mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies, the demand for skills specifically for treating diverse clients grows. In this much-needed edited volume, you’ll find evidence-based strategies for treating gender and sexual minorities with acceptance and compassion for better treatment outcomes. Gender and sexual minorities face unique concerns and, according to research, are actually more likely to want and seek therapeutic help due to greater levels of psychological distress. But research also shows that many psychologists and therapists do not feel adequately educated or efficacious discussing topics related to sexuality and gender in clinical practice. This book will address this significant gap with evidence-based and best-practice interventions and applications. Mindfulness and Acceptance for Gender and Sexual Minorities offers a number of practical strategies within a contextual behavioral science framework, including mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions, compassion-focused therapy (CFT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), relational frame theory (RFT), and more. With chapters on stigma, shame, relationships, and parenting, this book will be a valuable resource for all therapists. If you’re a clinician, you understand the ongoing need for cutting-edge, effective approaches for treating a variety of clients. With this guide, you’ll learn about the unique application of contextual behavioral approaches as they relate specifically to the experiences of gender and sexual minorities, and feel better equipped to help all of your clients work toward happiness and health.




Handbook of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity in Counseling and Psychotherapy


Book Description

Scholarship on sexual minority (SM) and transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) psychology has exploded in recent years, with unprecedented impact on practitioners and researchers, as well as the social and political compass of the nation. At the same time, best practices for mental health professionals who work with SM and TGNC clients continue to evolve rapidly.This volume builds on the editors' 2007 Handbook of Counseling and Psychotherapy With Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Clients to explore the challenges faced by SM and TGNC clients today. Experts in the field examine how the concepts of gender and sexual orientation are both socioculturally-constructed and can be informed by biologically-focused research, thus setting the stage for flexible, affirmative mental health services. Chapters cover a range of practice-focused, theoretical, and empirically-based contemporary perspectives, while highlighting themes that include an appreciation for complexity in identity, minority stress, and stigma management. With concise summaries of research findings and detailed case studies, contributors provide an intersectional understanding of how practitioners can work within rapidly-changing political and legal contexts to uncover and affirm clients' multiple social identities, and build resilience.




Equality of Opportunity for Sexual and Gender Minorities


Book Description

Despite legal and social advances in the past two decades, sexual and gender minorities continue to face widespread discrimination and violence in many countries. This discrimination and violence lead to exclusion, which adversely impacts their lives, as well as the communities and economies in which they live. A major barrier to addressing this stigma and sexual orientation and gender identity(SOGI)-based exclusion is the lack of SOGI-specific data. Robust, quantitative data on di‚fferential development experiences and outcomes of sexual and gender minorities--especially those in developing countries--is extremely thin. This paucity of data jeopardizes the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and countries' commitment to the principle of 'leaving no one behind' in the eff‚ort to end poverty and inequality. 'Equality of Opportunity for Sexual and Gender Minorities' assesses the unique challenges that sexual and gender minorities face in six important areas: (i) Criminalization and SOGI (ii) Access to education (iii) Access to the labor market (iv) Access to public services and social protection (v) Civil and political inclusion (vi) Protection from hate crimes. This report cov‚ers numerous policy recommendations to prevent and eliminate discriminatory practices in all of the areas covered. It also seeks to inflŽuence legislative changes and support research on institutions and regulations that can ultimately lead to poverty reduction and shared prosperity. At the same time, it acknowledges that the mere existence of inclusive laws and regulations does not ensure that sexual and gender minorities are free from discrimination--the enforcement of those laws is crucial. This publication, the first in a series of studies, will be expanded from the 16 countries included here to a wider set of countries for more in-depth quantitative analysis and to identify possible correlations with socioeconomic outcomes. It will seek to deepen knowledge, facilitate peer learning of good practices, and encourage reforms to increase the inclusion of sexual and gender minorities.




The Oxford Handbook of Sexual and Gender Minority Mental Health


Book Description

"The Oxford Handbook of Sexual and Gender Minority Mental Health provides an overview of the current research on the mental health of sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations. It is aimed at researchers conducting studies on the mental health of SGM populations, clinicians and researchers interested in psychiatric disorders that affect SGM populations, clinicians using evidence-based practice in the treatment of SGM patients/clients, students in mental health programs (clinical psychology, psychiatry, clinical social work, and psychiatric nursing), and policymakers. This chapter defines some terms and provides an overview of current and past SGM research methods"--




Understanding the Well-Being of LGBTQI+ Populations


Book Description

The increase in prevalence and visibility of sexually gender diverse (SGD) populations illuminates the need for greater understanding of the ways in which current laws, systems, and programs affect their well-being. Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, transgender, non-binary, queer, or intersex, as well as those who express same-sex or -gender attractions or behaviors, will have experiences across their life course that differ from those of cisgender and heterosexual individuals. Characteristics such as age, race and ethnicity, and geographic location intersect to play a distinct role in the challenges and opportunities SGD people face. Understanding the Well-Being of LGBTQI+ Populations reviews the available evidence and identifies future research needs related to the well-being of SDG populations across the life course. This report focuses on eight domains of well-being; the effects of various laws and the legal system on SGD populations; the effects of various public policies and structural stigma; community and civic engagement; families and social relationships; education, including school climate and level of attainment; economic experiences (e.g., employment, compensation, and housing); physical and mental health; and health care access and gender-affirming interventions. The recommendations of Understanding the Well-Being of LGBTQI+ Populations aim to identify opportunities to advance understanding of how individuals experience sexuality and gender and how sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status affect SGD people over the life course.




The Health of Sexual Minorities


Book Description

This is the first concise handbook on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) health in the past few years. It breaks the myths, breaks the silence, and breaks new ground on this subject. This resource offers a multidimensional picture of LGBT health across clinical and social disciplines to give readers a full and nuanced understanding of these diverse populations. It contains real-world matters of definition and self-definition, meticulous analyses of stressor and health outcomes, a extensive coverage of research methodology concerns, and critical insights into the sociopolitical context of LGBT individuals’ health and lives.




Becoming Visible


Book Description

Becoming Visible offers cutting-edge psychological perspectives on bisexual and queer identities and the cultural and mental health issues facing bisexual, lesbian, gay, queer, and questioning individuals and their partners. Essential for any professional seeking to provide "best practice" services to this population, Becoming Visible addresses the therapeutic needs of bisexuals at every stage of the life cycle. This volume explores why some people resist identity labels and what bisexual men and women consider exemplary and harmful in their therapeutic experiences. It also helps practitioners distinguish between the stresses brought on by being part of a sexual minority and the clinical symptoms that indicate serious mental health issues. It includes research on ethnic minority bisexuals, youth, elders, gender-variant individuals, and bisexuals engaging in alternative lifestyles and sexual practices such as polyamory and BDSM. Edited by a psychologist who specializes in sexual-orientation and gender-identity issues and with contributions from scholars and professionals from multiple disciplines, the book embraces perspectives from the empirical to the phenomenological, and outlines both scientific and practice-based approaches to the subject while carefully considering the psychological, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of the issues confronting bisexual men and women. Becoming Visible is a crucial step in the improved mental health and well-being of bisexuals, transgender individuals, and other sexual minorities. This book offers a path toward awareness and compassion for those who seek to understand, treat, and empower this underserved and frequently misunderstood group of mental health clients.