Module 6: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) Clients: Clinical Issues and Treatment Strategies

Effective and evidence-based treatment strategies for GLBT clients
Identify hidden treatment issues amongst GLBT couples
Risk assessment and treatment for GLBT teens
Avoid the top mistakes therapists make with their GLBT clients

Join international speaker, author and expert on gay issues and counseling, Dr. Joe Kort, as he equips you with the tools and information you need to more effectively counsel your gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender clients, couples and teens.

Through case examples and plenty of humor, you will gain a better understanding of the current GLBT culture, sexual fluidity and trauma associated with growing up in the closet. You will learn strategies to better treat the unique challenges your client may be facing such as self-acceptance, sexual identity, abuse, and the difficult process of coming out. Learn how to differentiate common mental health disorders, such as anxiety, depression and bipolar, which often mimic the effects of abuse, stigmatization, or the coming out process for GLBT clients. Dr. Kort will also discuss the different relationship dynamics of a same gendered couple and give you practical tools for therapeutic progress.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from a leading expert in the field!

OUTLINE

Growing Up & Coming Out: Trauma, Conflicting Norms and Unique Challenges

Stigma and its impact on mental health
Covert cultural sexual abuse
Developmental insults
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
6 stages & 3 phases to coming out
Differentiate sexual identity, preference, fantasy & behaviors
Finding their sense of belonging in the GLBT community

Your GLBT Client’s Sexuality

Cultural understanding of GLBT sex practices and behaviors
Sexual fluidity
Bi-now, gay later concept
Various manifestations of bisexuality
Transgender and sexual functioning

GLBT Adolescence

Coming out issues specific to being 18-years-old and younger
Risk assessment for substance abuse
Assess for suicidality

Differential Diagnosis

Mental health disorders that mimic:
- Effects of growing up in the closet
- Covert sexual abuse
- Coming out stages & phases
Borderline/Avoidant/Narcissistic
Depression/ Bipolar
Anxiety
Addictions
Recognize characterological overlays
Symptoms as defenses

Clinical Treatment: Put It into Practice

Gay Affirmative Therapy (GAT)
Strategies for working through coming out process
- Psychodynamic Interventions
- Bibliotherapy
- CBT techniques through writing
- Challenge internalized negative beliefs
- Emotional regulation
Overcome trauma, shame, alienation and isolation
- Exposure therapy to other GLBT individuals and groups
- Recognize character logical-appearing overlays
- Reaction formation
- Trauma resolution
- Reduce and eliminate internalized homophobia, biphobia and transphobia
Identify integration of self and homosexuality
Examine countertransference
Additional treatment considerations
Avoid common mistakes

Working with GLBT Couples

Imago Relationship Model
Gottman’s research on gay and lesbian couples
Differences and similarities from treating heterosexual couple
Dynamics of a same gendered couple: “doubling” effect around gender
Coming out discrepancy
Open relationships and polyamory
Mixed orientation marriage with one gay spouse, one straight spouse
Treatment considerations:
- Lesbian Bed Death Myth
- Gay male couples and vulnerability
- Differentiation
- Sexual compatibility

OBJECTIVES

Assess psychological trauma of growing up gay and lesbian.
Identify symptoms of Covert Cultural Sexual Abuse growing up gay.
Recognize stages and phases of coming out and how to work with couples at different stages.
Discuss the "doubling" factor of two members of the same gender and how this plays out in their relationship conflicts.
Differentiate common mental health disorders, such as anxiety, depression and bipolar, which often mimic the effects of abuse, stigmatization, or the coming out process for GLBT clients.
Utilize specific interventions and assessment tools for GLBT clients and gay affirmative therapy.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Joe Kort, PhD, LMSW, is a board certified sexologist and the founder of The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health, and runs a private practice in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Dr. Kort, a therapist, coach and author, has been practicing psychotherapy for over 25 years and has spoken internationally on the subject of gay counseling. He specializes in sex therapy, gay affirmative psychotherapy, sexually compulsive behaviors, and IMAGO relationship therapy designed for couples to enhance their relationship through improved communication. Dr. Kort is a blogger on Huffington Post on issues of sexuality. He has been a guest on the various television programs on mixed orientation marriages and sexual addiction. Dr. Kort is the author of several books, including, Gay Affirmative Therapy for the Straight Clinician, 10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do To Improve Their Lives, 10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do To Find Real Love, and Is My Husband Gay, Straight or Bisexual, to be released Fall, 2014.

To order the book, Gay Affirmative Therapy for the Straight Clinician: The Essential Guide, please visit our product store.

To order the book, Mindfulness Skills Workbook for Clinicians and Clients: 111 Tools, Techniques, Activities & Worksheets, please visit our product store.

Target Audience

Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Addiction Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists, Nurses and other Mental Health Professionals

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