Gay Affirmative Practice: A Model for Counseling LGB Youth

Conference Strand

Research and Theory

Abstract

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, LGB youth are at greater risk for depression, suicide, and substance use compared to their heterosexual peers. This presentation will highlight how the gay affirmative practice model can be used to help affirm LGB youth and help them feel socially, emotionally, and physically safe and supported.

Description

During sexual identity development, lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth may feel confused, scared, and conflicted. Many LGB youth will seek counseling to figure out how to cope with these feelings and navigate the coming out process. Gay affirmative practice requires having a therapeutic attitude of affirming a LGB sexual identity as an equally positive human experience and expression to heterosexual identity. Gay affirmative practice is not a technique or skill to use with clients; rather, it provides a set of guidelines for counselors to work with LGB individuals in a culturally competent manner. Practitioners who use gay affirmative practice validate, advocate, and celebrate LGB youth, work with them to integrate the intersections of their identity, and empower them to be productive members of their communities as LGB individuals. This presentation will review the foundations, assumptions, and strategies of gay affirmative practice with a focus on working with LGB youth. We will discuss how the Gay Affirmative Practice Scale (GAP), developed by Dr. Catherine Crisp, can be used to assess beliefs and behaviors in practice with LGB individuals. Participants will take part in an exercise intended to examine judgments of others, build empathy, and increase awareness of issues affecting LGB youth. Participants will discuss how to apply gay affirmative practice to selected scenarios from media/film. Although this presentation was originally intended to be used with counselors or counselors-in-training in the audience, it can be applied to many audiences because at its core, it is about changing the way we view LGB youth so we are more affirming and supportive.

Evidence

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016), Sexual identity, sex of sexual contacts, and health-Risk behaviors among students in grades 9-12: youth risk behavior surveillance. Atlanta GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss60e0606.pdf

Crisp, C. (2005). Homophobia and use of gay affirmative practice in a sample of social workers and psychologists. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 18(1), 51-70.

Crisp, C. (2006). The Gay Affirmative Practice Scale (GAP): A new measure for assessing cultural competency with gay and lesbian clients. Social Work, 51(2), 115-126.

Crisp, C. (2006). Correlates of homophobia and use of gay affirmative practice among social workers. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 14(4),119-143.

Crisp, C. (2012). Correlates of homophobia and gay affirmative practice in rural practitioners. Journal of Rural and Community Psychology, 15(1). Available at http://www.marshall.edu/JRCP/V15%20N1/15.1%20Crisp%20Ready.pdf

Crisp, C. & McCave, E. L. (2007). Gay affirmative practice: A model for social work practice with gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 24(4) 403-421.

Crisp, C., Wayland, S., & Gordon. T. (2008). Older gay, lesbian, and bisexual adults: Tools for age–competent and gay affirmative practice. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 20(1/2), 5-29.

Davies, D. (1996). Towards a model of gay affirmative therapy. In D. Davies & C. Neal (Eds.). Pink therapy: A guide for counselors and therapists working with lesbian, gay and bisexual clients (pp. 24–40). Philadelphia: Open University Press

Kann, L., Olsen, E., McManus, T., Harris, W. A., Shanklin, S. L., Flint, K. H.,...Zaza, S. (2016). Sexual identity, sex of sexual contacts, and health-related behaviors among students in grades 9–12 — United States and selected sites, 2015. Surveillance Summaries, 65(1), 1-202. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.ss6509a1

Van Den Bergh, N. & Crisp, C. (2004). Defining culturally competent practice with sexual minorities: Implications for social work education and practice. Journal of Social Work Education, 40(2), 221-238.

Format

Panel Presentations

Biographical Sketch

Courtney Walters is a second-year doctoral student and teaching assistant in the Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development (ELPHD) Counselor Education program at North Carolina State University. She is also an adjunct lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Courtney is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPCS) in North Carolina and a National Certified Counselor (NCC). She has two years of clinical supervision experience and eight years of counseling experience (post-licensure) in university, hospital, and agency settings.

Cory Clark is a second-year doctoral student and research assistant in the Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development (ELPHD) Counselor Education program at North Carolina State University. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPCA) in North Carolina and a National Certified Counselor (NCC). He has two years of counseling experience (post-licensure) in private practice settings. The conceptual framework for Cory Clark’s research assistantship is titled R.A.D.I.C.A.L. scholarship, which means Research Action to Deconstruct Institutionalized Cultures and Advocate for Liberation. This framework currently includes four areas of concentration and corresponding goals, which are: (1) preventing gender-based violence through education, activism, male engagement, and community partnerships, (2) facilitating access to preventive community mental health counseling services, (3) transforming contextual and systemic factors to promote the healthy development of African American people and (4) developing social justice counselor education teaching and research methods.

Whitney McLaughlin is a second-year doctoral student in the Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development (ELPHD) Counselor Education program at North Carolina State University. She is a graduate assistant at NC State’s Poole College of Management and a Chapter Resident Director with Fraternity & Sorority Life. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPCA) in North Carolina and a National Certified Counselor (NCC). She has had one year of counseling experience (post-licensure) in residential, university, and private practice settings. Her research interests include creative approaches in counseling, identity development, self-care and wellness.

Samantha Simon is a first-year doctoral student in the Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development (ELPHD) Counselor Education program at NC State. She is a graduate assistant at the NC State Counseling Center as an Academic Counselor. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPCA), National Certified Counselor (NCC), and a member of the Nu Sigma Chi chapter of Chi Sigma Iota International Honor Society of Counseling (CSI) in the state of North Carolina. She received a Master's of Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from UNC Pembroke in May of 2017. She has worked in college and outpatient mental health settings. Her research interest areas include counseling supervision and counselor training development.

Bredell Moody is a first-year doctoral student in the Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development (ELPHD) Counselor Education program at NC State. He is graduate assistant at the NC State Counseling Center as an Academic Counselor. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPCA), National Certified Counselor (NCC), a member of the Nu Sigma Chi chapter of Chi Sigma Iota International Honor Society of Counseling (CSI) in the state of North Carolina. He received his Master’s of Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from UNC Pembroke in December of 2016. He has worked in outpatient mental health settings working predominantly with economically-disadvantaged minority clients. Current research interests include social justice and empathy development.

Start Date

2-10-2018 10:15 AM

End Date

2-10-2018 11:30 AM

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Feb 10th, 10:15 AM Feb 10th, 11:30 AM

Gay Affirmative Practice: A Model for Counseling LGB Youth

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, LGB youth are at greater risk for depression, suicide, and substance use compared to their heterosexual peers. This presentation will highlight how the gay affirmative practice model can be used to help affirm LGB youth and help them feel socially, emotionally, and physically safe and supported.