Spirituality and Mental Health: Sexual Identity and Faith (ePub)

Christianswho struggle with a conflict between their sexualand religious identitieshave few therapeutic optionsavailable to them.'Sexual orientation change efforts' (SOCE) have rightly fallen out of favor andare no longer practiced bymost clinicians. At the same time, the common approach of gay affirmative therapy (GAT) can at times present challenges and may not be a good fit when clients hold to conventional religious beliefs and values.An alternative to these methods isSexual Identity Therapy (SIT)-anapproachthataims to provideindividualswitha safe therapeutic space to explore the tension between their sexuality and their faith.Working within the SIT framework, clients are able toresolve their inner conflictto theirpersonalsatisfaction andtofreely choose a coherent identity that enables them to move forward in life.SIT has several stages, each designed to enable the client to make meaning out of his or her same-sex sexuality. At no point in the process is the client encouraged to choose one sexual identity over another.The ultimate goal of SIT is congruence. Congruenceis achieved when a person freely adopts an identity and lives it out in ways that are in keeping withhis or herbeliefs and values.The SIT modelis broughtto lifethroughout the book with the help ofcase studies drawn from the author's 20 years of experience.Written for both Christian and non-religious clinicians,Sexual Identity and Faithis an informed, respectful, and nuanced guide to help people navigatethe difficult conflict between who they are sexually and what they believe religiously.