LGBT Affirmative Therapy

The term "LGBT" is an acronym for "Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Transsexual. Sometimes, additional letters are added, like "Q" for Queer or questioning, "I" for Intersexual.

What is Gay Affirmative Therapy?

“Gay-affirmative” was first used in an article by Alan Malyon where he described the most complete definition of "gay-affirmative therapy".

Gay Affirmative Therapy (GAT) takes the position that there is nothing inherently wrong with being gay or lesbian. Allison has experience working with transgender youth, adults and their families. This topic often insights a great deal of controversy and it is important that someone facing questions of their gender identity or sexual orientation be treated with respect and kindness.

What’s wrong with society is what is done to gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered individuals by a homophobic, homo-ignorant society and heterosexist therapy. Living in a shame-based culture creates a variety of behavioral and psychological disorders. One study of the "Risk Factors for Suicide Among Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youths", by Curtis D.Proctor and Victor K. Groze found that 40.3% of the participants in their study had attempted suicide and 25.8% had seriously considered it. Data concerning young homosexuals is somewhat unreliable. It appears that about one in three teen aged suicides is by a gay or lesbian. Since homosexuals represent only about 5% of the population, gays and lesbians are greatly over-represented.

GAT focuses on repairing the harm done to these clients, helping them move from shame to pride.

Sexuality Defined...

Homosexuality is measurable and thus is a legitimate area for human sexuality researchers to study. They have generally concluded that adult human sexuality comes in three natural, normal, unchosen, and almost always unchangeable orientations:

Heterosexuality: Most people are sexually attracted only to members of the opposite gender.

Homosexuality: A small minority of adults are attracted only to members of the same gender.

Bisexuality: A smaller minority are attracted to both men and women, but not necessarily to the same degree. They are the only folks that can have a sexual preference in their relationships.

Gender identity and transsexuality, etc:

This section discusses gender identity. That is what a person perceives their gender to be. For the vast majority of individuals, their genetic gender (as defined by the sex chromosomes in every cell of their body) matches their gender identity (as defined by the section or sections of their brain that supply their gender awareness). That is, most people are: genetically males and are mentally and emotionally certain that they are males; or genetically females and firmly aware that they are females. They would be quite unable to change their gender perception, even if they wanted to. They know that they are of a particular gender. They also know that it is quite impossible to change.

However, in rare cases, a mismatch happens. The individual will experience gender dysphoria. They will often describe having a permanent feeling of being a woman trapped in a man's body, or vice versa. This is sometimes described as having a male brain in a female body, or vice-versa. They can become profoundly depressed. Their suicide rate is enormous when compared to the general population.

The term "transgendered" is often used to refer to individuals who experience gender dysphoria. "Transsexual" often refers to transgendered individuals who attempt to resolve their problem by undergoing hormone therapy and sometimes also sexual reassignment surgery (SRS). These medications and procedures change their appearance so that they much more closely resemble the gender that they sense themselves as being. Success rates of this path are very high, as long as proper treatment protocols are followed.



Thank you to http://www.religioustolerance.org for the material that made up this article. No matter what our different spiritual beliefs may be everyone can choose to believe "In the inherent worth of every person. People are worthy of respect, support, and caring simply because they are human."