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Pink Therapy: A guide for counsellors and therapists working with lesbian, gay and bisexual clients
A comprehensive British volume on lesbian and gay affirmative psychotherapy has been a while coming. Pink Therapy, however, has arrived, amply fills this gap, and is well worth the wait. The literature reviews are masterful for scholars, and the book offers a comprehensive, thoughtful approach for clinicians. A deft editorial hand is evident in the unusual consistency across chapters, the uniformly crisp, helpful chapter summaries, and the practical appendices, generous resources lists and well organized bibliographies.
I particularly like the contributors subtle appreciation of theoretical nuance, genuine open-mindedness to diversity of ideas, and willingness to synthesize in a pragmatic and client-oriented manner.
John C. Gonsiorek, PhD., Minneapolis, MN USA; Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology; Past President, Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian and Gay Issues (Division 44 of the American Psychological Association).
Pink Therapy is the first British guide for counsellors and therapists working with people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual. It provides a much needed overview of lesbian, gay and bisexual psychology, and examines some of the differences between lesbians, gays and bisexuals, and heterosexuals. Pink Therapy proposes a model of gay affirmative therapy, which challenges the prevailing pathologizing models. It will help to provide answers to pressing questions such
*what is different about lesbian, gay and bisexual psychologies?
*how can I improve my work with lesbian, gay and bisexual clients?
*what are the key clinical issues that this work raises?
The contributors draw on their wide range of practical experience to provide - in an accessible style - information about the contemporary experience of living as a lesbian, gay or bisexual person, and to explore some of the common difficulties.
Pink Therapy will be important reading for students and practitioners of counselling and psychotherapy, and will also be of value to anyone involved in helping people with a lesbian, gay or bisexual orientation.
I particularly like the contributors subtle appreciation of theoretical nuance, genuine open-mindedness to diversity of ideas, and willingness to synthesize in a pragmatic and client-oriented manner.
John C. Gonsiorek, PhD., Minneapolis, MN USA; Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology; Past President, Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian and Gay Issues (Division 44 of the American Psychological Association).
Pink Therapy is the first British guide for counsellors and therapists working with people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual. It provides a much needed overview of lesbian, gay and bisexual psychology, and examines some of the differences between lesbians, gays and bisexuals, and heterosexuals. Pink Therapy proposes a model of gay affirmative therapy, which challenges the prevailing pathologizing models. It will help to provide answers to pressing questions such
*what is different about lesbian, gay and bisexual psychologies?
*how can I improve my work with lesbian, gay and bisexual clients?
*what are the key clinical issues that this work raises?
The contributors draw on their wide range of practical experience to provide - in an accessible style - information about the contemporary experience of living as a lesbian, gay or bisexual person, and to explore some of the common difficulties.
Pink Therapy will be important reading for students and practitioners of counselling and psychotherapy, and will also be of value to anyone involved in helping people with a lesbian, gay or bisexual orientation.
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 14, 2025
Very much food for thought
July 7, 2016
In some ways, this book feels every bit of 20 years old. In others it's strikingly current.
It's a strange mix of LGB 101 and forceful arguments against anti-LGB prejudice in treatment.
Reading a casual reference to out gay footballer Justin Fashanu, I was dismayed to google his name and learn he died of suicide two years after this book was published. Similarly the homophobic document attributed to Cardinal Ratzinger seems even more menacing with the historical hindsight that recognizes the name of the now-retired pope.
In some ways, there has been progress, particularly in the realm of civil rights and acceptance both popularly and in churches. In other areas, not so much. The discussion of the effects of internalized homophobia in the chapter on coming out processes looks disturbingly contemporary.
Some of the experiences of LGB people reported would no longer seem to apply to the current generations--I'm thinking particularly of the notion that most gay men have sex with same-sex partners before coming out even to themselves, an order that's reversed today when a lot of people come out almost before their teen years. Research into sexual orientation has come a long way in the last 20 years. And of course it's nearly inconceivable that such a book published today would make no mention of trans people, even if discussing LGB and trans people separately might make sense given people's different challenges and life experiences.
In sum: a deserved classic that could probably use an update.
It's a strange mix of LGB 101 and forceful arguments against anti-LGB prejudice in treatment.
Reading a casual reference to out gay footballer Justin Fashanu, I was dismayed to google his name and learn he died of suicide two years after this book was published. Similarly the homophobic document attributed to Cardinal Ratzinger seems even more menacing with the historical hindsight that recognizes the name of the now-retired pope.
In some ways, there has been progress, particularly in the realm of civil rights and acceptance both popularly and in churches. In other areas, not so much. The discussion of the effects of internalized homophobia in the chapter on coming out processes looks disturbingly contemporary.
Some of the experiences of LGB people reported would no longer seem to apply to the current generations--I'm thinking particularly of the notion that most gay men have sex with same-sex partners before coming out even to themselves, an order that's reversed today when a lot of people come out almost before their teen years. Research into sexual orientation has come a long way in the last 20 years. And of course it's nearly inconceivable that such a book published today would make no mention of trans people, even if discussing LGB and trans people separately might make sense given people's different challenges and life experiences.
In sum: a deserved classic that could probably use an update.
January 13, 2013
Some very useful information, but the readability was somewhat inconsistent due to the presence of a different author for each chapter. A lot of this was stuff I already knew, but some of it was new to me, and I would definitely recommend this for any therapist who wants to increase their cultural competence for working with gay, lesbian, and bisexual clients, especially if that population is somewhat uncharted territory for you.
February 7, 2012
Volume 2 is my favorite out of the three
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews