British Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Psychologies

Theory, Research, and Practice

Jack Drescher, Elizabeth Peel, Victoria Clarke

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780789032515
• eBook ISBN: 9781000156867
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Gain insight into crucial British mental health approaches for LGB individuals

There is very little collaborative literature between LGB-affirmative psychologists and psychotherapists in the United States and the United Kingdom. British Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Psychologies: Theory, Research, and Practice may well be a crucial beginning step in building dialogue between these two countries on important LGB psychotherapy developments. Leading authorities comprehensively examine the latest studies and effective therapies for LGB individuals in the United Kingdom. Practitioners will discover an extensive survey of the most current developments to supplement their own work, while educators and students will find diverse expert perspectives on which to consider and broaden their own viewpoints. This unique book offers an informative introduction to British psychosocial perspectives on theory, research, and practice.

British Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Psychologies provides a critical exploration of the recent history of LGB psychology and psychotherapy in the United Kingdom, focusing on key publications and outlining the current terrain. Other chapters are organized into two thematic sections. The first section explores theoretical frameworks in United Kingdom therapeutic practice, while the second section examines sexual minority identities and their needs for support and community.

Topics in British Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Psychologies include:

• similarities and differences between LGBT psychology and psychotherapy in the United States and United Kingdom



• gay affirmative therapy (GAT) as a positive framework



• existential-phenomenological approach to psychotherapy



• core issues in the anxiety about whether or not to "come out"



• object relations theory



• exploring homo-negativity in the therapeutic process



• aspects of psychotherapy that lesbians and gay men find helpful



• research into how the mainstreaming of lesbian and gay culture has affected the lives of LGB individuals



• a study into LGB youth issues



• difficulties of gay men with learning disabilities—with suggestions on how to offer the best psychological service



• a study on gay athletes' experiences of coming out in a heterosexist world

British Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Psychologies takes a needed step toward sharing valuable psychosocial perspectives between countries. This useful, enlightening text is perfect for educators, students, psychologists, psychotherapists, and counselors working in the field of sexuality.

SECTION 1:
INTRODUCING LGB PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY AND PRACTICE IN THE UK

Introduction to LGB Perspectives in Psychological and Psychotherapeutic Theory, Research and Practice in the UK

Elizabeth Peel PhD

Victoria Clarke PhD

Jack Drescher MD

Elizabeth Peel is Lecturer in Psychology, School of Life & Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK (E-mail: [email protected]).

Victoria Clarke is Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology, School of Psychology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK (E-mail: [email protected]). Jack Drescher is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy.

The editors wish to thank Anna Sandfield for organising the one-day Sexuality and Identity conference held in November 2003 at Aston University, Birmingham, UK that formed the basis of this volume. The Guest Editors would like to thank the following people who kindly reviewed the submissions: Mark Andersen, Phyllis Annesley, Christopher Bennett, Catherine Butler, Trevor Butt, Isabel Clare, Adrian Coyle, Kamaldeep Dhillon, Barbara Duncan, Guy Faulkner, Hannah Frith, Rosie Harding, Colleen Heenan, Craig Hutchinson, Katherine Johnson, Susan King, Vikki Krane, Peter Martin, Jeremy Monsen, Hazel Platzer, Ian Rivers, Katrina Roen, Susan Speer and John Waite.

[Haworth co-indexing entry note]: “Introduction to LGB Perspectives in Psychological and Psychotherapeutic Theory, Research and Practice in the UK.” Peel, Elizabeth, Victoria Clarke, and Jack Drescher. Co-published simultaneously in Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy (The Haworth Medical Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc.) Vol. 11, No. 1/2, 2007, pp. 1-6; and: British Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Psychologies: Theory, Research, and Practice (ed: Elizabeth Peel, Victoria Clarke, and Jack Drescher) The Haworth Medical Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc., 2007, pp. 1-6. Single or multiple copies of this article are available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service [1-800-HAWORTH, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (EST). E-mail address: [email protected]].

We are delighted to welcome readers to this collection of papers showcasing current developments in lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) psychological and psychotherapeutic theory, research and practice in the United Kingdom. This is our second foray into the international arena, having published in Volume 7 of Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy a special volume entitled “The Mental Health Professions and Homosexuality: International Perspectives (issued in monograph volume as Lingiardi and Drescher, 2003). In that previous collection, our lone UK contributor, the late Daniel Twomey (2003), focused on psychoanalytic perspectives about and attitudes toward homosexuality in the UK. This volume expands upon that earlier contribution and introduces readers to a wider range of British mental health approaches.

When reading these papers, it is worth keeping in mind some important distinctions between our two countries: (1) in contrast to the US, mental health services are subsidized in the UK by the government’s National Health Service (NHS); (2) British national policy is becoming increasingly gay-affirmative–including the adoption of same-sex civil partnerships–while US policies at the Federal level are resisting such affirmation; (3) research intended to address the mental health needs of LGBT populations is increasingly likely to influence policy-making regarding the British health-care system, while similar research in the US (and much research openly dealing with sexual matters or sexual minorities) is under attack by social conservatives at the federal, state and local levels.

This collection opens with Clarke and Peel’s “LGBT Psychosocial Theory and Practice” which offers a critical review of the (recent) history of UK LGB psychology and psychotherapy, focusing on key publications, and outlining the current terrain, highlighting similarities and differences between the UK and the US contexts.

The remaining papers are organised into two thematic sections and exemplify psychosocial perspectives in UK LGB psychological and psychotherapeutic theory, research and practice. Section 2 explores theoretical frameworks in UK therapeutic practice. As John Gonsiorek (2000) notes in his forward to the second volume of the UK-produced Pink Therapy series (Davies and Neal, 2000), the prominence given to different schools of therapy in the UK stands in contrast with the strongly integrative (or eclectic) approaches that are the norm in the US.

Section 2 begins with Darren Langdridge’s “Gay Affirmative Therapy: A Theoretical Framework and Defence.” While gay affirmative therapy (GAT) provides a framework for clinical practice that is supportive of lesbian, gay and bisexual identities, a number of humanistic and existential psychotherapists seek to avoid imposing specific expectations on their clients and consequently have challenged the applicability of using a GAT framework for their practice. Langdridge examines their arguments and suggests a solution consistent with enabling therapists to recognise and work with the twin impacts of the psychotherapist and social world on the construction of a client’s sexual identity.

Next is Martin Milton’s “Being Sexual: Existential Contributions to Psychotherapy with Gay Male Clients.” This paper outlines an existential-phenomenological (E-P) approach to psychotherapy and considers some of its core concepts, the stance taken to understanding sexuality and the implications for therapeutic practice with gay male clients. Colin Clarke’s “Facilitating Gay Men’s Coming Out: An Existential-Phenomenological Exploration” further examines, from an E-P approach, the core issues facing male clients in confronting their anxiety about whether or not to “come out” as gay.

Section 2 concludes with Aaron Balick’s “Gay Subjects Relating: Object Relations Between Gay Therapist and Gay Client.” Balick discusses the development of object relations theory in Britain. His paper examines object relations in the context of its unique challenges for gay male therapists working with gay male clients in what he refers to as “the gay therapeutic dyad.”

Section 3 explores sexual minority identities and their needs for support and community. It begins with Malley and Tasker’s “‘The Difference that Makes a Difference’: What Matters to Lesbians and Gay Men in Psychotherapy.” In order to determine what aspects of psychotherapy lesbians and gay men find helpful, the authors conducted a postal survey with a community sample of lesbians and gay men in the UK who had used counselling or psychotherapy services. Content analysis of the responses of 365 lesbians and gay men revealed that issues related to sexual identity were important in addition to generic qualities of the therapeutic relationship. Lesbians and gay men also listed friends, family of choice, and family of origin, and complementary or “alternative” therapies as important sources of support aside from psychotherapy.

Sonja Ellis further explores sexual minority populations in “Community in the 21st Century: Issues Arising from a Study of British Lesbians and Gay Men.” Historically, lesbians and gay men created “communities” because their oppressed status often rendered them invisible to each other. In the UK this led to a wide range of organised social activities and venues, including lesbian-organised Women’s Centres and, following the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s, a range of health-based organisations and groups available to gay men. However, with the mainstreaming of lesbian and gay culture–combined with the ever-increasing commercialisation of lesbian and gay venues–many “non-scene” venues and organised social activities for lesbians and gay men disappeared. Drawing on data from an interview-based study with UK lesbians and gay men, Ellis’s paper highlights the ways in which these changes have affected the lives and lifestyles of lesbians and gay men, resulting in the social exclusion of certain individuals and groups.

Colm Crowley, Rom Harré and Ingrid Lunt shift the focus to youth in “Safe Spaces and Sense of Identity: Views and Experiences of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Young People.” Given that empirical data on the life experiences of contemporary school-age LGB young people in Britain is sparse, they report preliminary findings of a study conducted at a recently-initiated LGB youth Summer School. The aim was to elicit the young people’s views and experiences relating to their need for support such as that offered by the Summer School. Themes drawn from participants’ interviews are presented and key issues included: being positioned as different by their majority heterosexual peers; feelings of isolation and loneliness in their peer groups and families; difficulties in finding others like themselves for companionship; and the importance of meeting more LGB people of their own age.

In “Gay Men with Learning Disabilities: UK Service Provision,” Sören Stauffer-Kruse notes that although the UK’s NHS offers many services for people with learning disabilities, sexuality issues are often overlooked. The paper explores how gay men with learning disabilities (GMLD) experience a complex set of increased difficulties in forming a functioning identity. Stauffer-Kruse also offers suggestions as to how practitioners could offer the best psychological service to GMLD.

The final paper in this volume is Brendan Gough’s “Coming Out in the Heterosexist World of Sport: A Qualitative Analysis of Web Postings by Gay Athletes.” There is very little published on how gay athletes come out to their sporting peers yet coming out is likely to present some unique challenges for those who do. Gough reports on a preliminary study based on an analysis of eight online accounts provided by North American gay athletes for a web-based newsletter. Using qualitative research methods, several themes emerged: (1) sport as distraction from sexuality; (2) invisibility and isolation within sport; (3) coming out to the team: difficult but rewarding; and (4) becoming politicised: challenging heterosexism within sport. Gough’s discussion centres on the challenges and opportunities facing gay men within sporting contexts and the implications of the analysis for possible psychological interventions with gay athletes. The need for further qualitative research in this area is also underlined.

To readers, a number of these contributions may appear sociological rather than psychological in nature; however, all of the contributions fit firmly in the cannon of LGB psychology in the UK. A reason why some of the contributions may appear sociological is their reliance on qualitative methods and discursive and constructionist approaches. The papers by Crowley et al., Ellis and Gough illustrate the use of qualitative perspectives in UK LGBT psychology. Crowley et al.’s and Ellis’s papers are examples of experiential qualitative approaches–ones that emphasise participants’ subjective understandings. Experiential approaches are grounded in an epistemology and view of language that assumes language reflects reality. Experiential qualitative researchers inspect participants’ language for evidence of their underlying thoughts, feelings and beliefs. For instance, Ellis is in...

Table of contents

• Cover
• British Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Psychologies: Theory, Research, and Practice
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Frontispiece
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• The Haworth Press, Inc.
• Table of Contents
• About the Editors
• Section 1 Introducing LGB Psychosocial Theory and Practice in the UK
• Section 2 Exploring Theoretical Frameworks in UK Therapeutic Practice
• Section 3 Exploring Lgb Identities, and Needs for Support and Community
• Index