From the moment a young person recognizes that she or he may be lesbian, gay, or bisexual, so too comes the realization that she or he will have to hide that sexual orientation from friends, family, and others in the community to avoid victimization.”  (Rivers & D’Augelli, 2001)

Gay youth and their families have been a particular area of interest and specialization for me, which was developed during my doctoral studies in the College of William & Mary.  My knowledge and skill in this area is not only based on the research of others but also on my own research with this population of families and the specialized needs they might present.  

Information for Gay Youth & Their Families

While we know that embeddedness in a family system can serve as a positive factor for youth who are beginning to understand themselves as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, the adjustment and coping issues that such a disclosure may present to parents and other family members can make positive family relational processes difficult to achieve and maintain.  The following are some of the issues that might be addressed in counseling:

Counseling for these and related issues may be conducted with youth and their family members through individual, couples, and/or family sessions. 

Goals of counseling for gay youth and their families may include increasing awareness regarding non-heterosexual sexualities, restructuring and resolving issues related to communication, boundaries, and roles, creating or revitalizing family cohesion and parenting strategies.  Changing an individuals sexual orientation would not be a goal of affirmative counseling with these families.

Gay youth and their families are encouraged to contact me for more information about this area of specialty and the types of counseling services that are available to address family and individual needs.

Additional information regarding my perspectives on these and related issues can be found in the LGBT section of this site.