Therapy with Individuals with Sexual and Gender Minority Identities

Catalog description

This course focuses on psychotherapy with lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and other people who identify with minority sexual and gender identities. It emphasizes conceptualization, core developmental themes, and clinical intervention with adolescents, adults, and couples. Students will examine the social contexts and social construction of sexual identity, gender identity, heterosexist and cissexist bias, and oppressions against sexual and gender minority individuals (SGM). The emphasis will be on how these influence the lives of SGM persons and their implications for psychotherapy methods to promote psychosocial resilience, as well as address psychopathology and minority stress. The course will use an active-learning/collaborative process that includes safety-supporting dialogues, topical co explorations in small groups or with a partner, and cultural analyses with the whole group.