LGBT Issues in Counseling

In this chapter, I explore the existing support structures for Russian-speaking LGBTIQ+ refugees in Berlin. I examine the developments in the support landscape for asylum seekers in Berlin from 2015 to 2018, regarding their accessibility for Russian-speaking LGBTIQ+ refugees and migrants. I analyze some of the institutional difficulties and structural discrimination using the example of translation work for LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers. After a brief overview of the potential difficulties that Russian-speaking LGBTIQ+ refugees encounter in Germany, I focus on the question of where they seek help in Berlin. The currently prevailing lack of support, I will argue, shows the necessity of a more intense cooperation between NGOs/social institutions and queer communities. By highlighting best practice examples as well as examples of the lack of support, I will suggest ideas for practical solidarity within NGOs and queer communities.

Transgender women can share common life experiences, which lead to specific clinical needs from their mental health providers. This goes far beyond diagnoses and must address the very real lived experiences and issues that transwomen face. Discrimination comes in many forms (poverty, unemployment, lack of access to healthcare, minimal social support, and housing instability) that will impact the therapeutic process. In order to interact with and provide adequate care for transwomen, there are certain strategies that might prove most helpful in building a strong therapeutic alliance. In addition, certain treatment modalities have been beneficial with transwomen (cognitive-behavioral therapy, narrative therapy, a trauma-informed approach, and social support groups). Assisting transgender women through treatment and transition can be a step in the process towards resilience and empowerment that clinicians should want to foster.

The aim of the QACP resource book is to aid reflexivity among mental health practitioners, primarily around gender-sexuality, but also with regard to other axes of power and privilege in social life.
The book can broadly be divided into three major focal points – further divided into seven chapters. The first part (Chapter 2) focuses on understanding the social construction of normative gender and sexuality. The aim of this chapter is to get participants, particularly those who are heterosexual and cisgender, to appreciate how ideas of normative sexuality (heterosexual) and gender (cisgender), continually confused with “normal” and “natural”, are constructed through complex social processes.

The second part of the book (Chapters 3, 4, 5) is focused on creating locally relevant knowledge for therapeutic issues such as stressors unique to living as a queer/trans person in India, working with the families of queer and trans persons, working with queer and trans couple issues, gaining perspective on understanding interpersonal violence within queer relationships. This part of the book also elaborates on the historical understanding of ways in which non-normative genders and sexualities have been pathologised within the psy disciplines, and provides insights into ways of shifting from harmful to neutral to affirmative practice. Some basic principles/tenets that a queer affirmative practitioner must follow are also laid out.

The third focal point of the book (Chapters 6 and 7) is to critically examine concepts within existing models of counselling practice that are informed by heteronormative and cisgender binary assumptions, and altering these to make them more responsive and affirmative to the psychic and interpersonal struggles of queer/trans clients.

This study is a content analysis of the first six volumes of the Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling (JLGBTIC), the first two terms of the journal's founding editor. All (JLGBTIC) articles published between 2006 and 2012 were reviewed and coded for author characteristics, topical content, research design, methodology, and population explored. Findings and a discussion of the results are provided to discuss trends, as well as potential further areas of exploration.

Abstract The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition) contains significant new information about bias-free language to which scholars must now adhere. Consequently, these changes provide unprecedented support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community as the bias-free language is adopted. This article identifies resources that counseling practitioners can use to advocate for and counsel LGBTQ+ clients. Further, this article describes the significant advancements gained in gender and sexual orientation bias-free language in the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual updates as contrasted with the 6th edition. Implications for counseling practitioners and researchers are provided.

ABSTRACT The present study used a mixed methods design to explore factors influencing alcohol use among sexual minority (lesbian, bisexual, queer, and same-sex attracted) women in a non-urban community. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 15 self-identified sexual minority women regarding the physical, social, and emotional context of two recent incidents of alcohol use. To compliment the interview responses, participants also completed the Lesbian Internalized Homophobia Scale and Psychological Sense of LGBT Community Scale. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the interview data, revealing patterns of alcohol use and influences on drinking across various contexts. The majority of reported incidents met the criteria for hazardous drinking and occurred in public LGBTQ settings. The top reported influences on alcohol use were to decrease anxiety, ease social interaction, enhance enjoyment and fun, and peer pressure to fit in. Patterns across drinking settings, influences, internalized heterosexism, and psychological sense of community are outlined. Implications for practice, research, and communities are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to identify the individual and contextual factors affecting the adaptation and transition of Latino immigrant gay men. Eleven self-identified Latino immigrant gay men volunteered to participate in individual face-to-face semistructured interviews. Through thematic analysis, four major themes emerged from the data. The themes included reasons for immigrating, cultural values regarding sexual orientation, access to health care, and discrimination and coping. Themes are interpreted within an ecological theoretical framework. Implications for theory development, practice, and future research are discussed.

A study of 220 gay men and lesbians, 22–74 years of age, who had been in same-sex relationships for 2 or more years was conducted to explore the relationship benchmark events, perceptions of difference between same-sex and heterosexual relationships, and specific challenges faced by same-sex couples. Results indicate that clinicians who work with this population must comprehend and address the

Abstract Allies to the LGBTQ + communities play an essential role in fighting for change and dismantling oppressive systems that can result in emotional, mental, and physical harm. Ethical standards and conceptual guidelines have assisted professional counselor allies in their efforts to affirm and act as social justice advocates for LGBTQ + persons. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, this study enriches existing literature by exploring how self-identified counselor allies to LGBTQ + communities made meaning of their own ally identity. Findings revealed five super-ordinate themes on Privilege, Action/Doing, Motivation, Role, and Relationships. The authors further discuss implications for counselor allies and recommendations for future research.

More than 100 pieces of anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) legislation are active in 2018. In this current political climate of “conscience clause” legislation, counselor educators and supervisors are poised to adopt more holistic practices in assessing and evaluating student and supervisee readiness to work with LGBT and queer (Q) clients. The purpose of this article is to present a dispositional framework for assessment and evaluation and introduce the flexibility, integrity, awareness, stability, compassion, and openness (FIASCO) rubric of professional counseling dispositions. Two court cases, Keeton v. Anderson-Wiley and Ward v. Wilbanks, are used as case examples for applying the FIASCO rubric to situations involving LGBTQ clients.