Christi R. McGeorge

Deconstructing Heterosexism: Becoming an LGB Affirmative Heterosexual Couple and Family Therapist

The purpose of this article is to propose a three-step model to help heterosexual therapists become more aware of the influence of their own heteronormative assumptions, heterosexual privileges, and heterosexual identities on the therapy process. This article also provides definitions of concepts central to the practice of affirmative therapy with lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients and strategies that therapists and clients can use to deconstruct heterosexism in the context of therapy.

Homophobia and Clinical Competency: An Exploration of Couple and Family Therapists’ Beliefs

This study measured couple and family therapists’ levels of homophobia and examined whether levels of homophobia would predict their self-reported competency in treating lesbian and gay (LG) clients. The sample consisted of 741 clinical members of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. Participants completed the Modern Homophobia Scale and the Sexual Orientation Counselor Competency Scale which measured self-reported competency in the areas of knowledge and skills related to treating LG clients. The findings of this study suggest that, on average, these clinical members report low levels of homophobia and participants’ levels of homophobia predict self-reported clinical competency.

Attitudes Toward Never-Married Single Mothers and Fathers: Does Gender Matter?

This study explored differences in attitudes toward never-married custodial single mothers and fathers. The sample for this study was comprised of 1,351 participants, with an average age of 27.2 years (SD = 11.68). Participants were randomly assigned to a female or male vignette stimulus and were asked to complete a series of questionnaires. The results suggest that never-married custodial single mothers were viewed less positively than never-married custodial single fathers in terms of personal characteristics and parenting abilities. This study highlights the importance of considering the gender of the single parent when researching and providing therapy to this population.

The State of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Affirmative Training: A Survey of Faculty from Accredited Couple and Family Therapy Programs

This study explored the state of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) affirmative training in the couple and family therapy field. LGB affirmative refers to holding positive views of LGB identities and relationships. A total of 117 faculty members completed the online survey for this study. Participants were asked to respond to items on the following topics: LGB affirmative stances, LGB affirmative program environment, LGB affirmative course content, self-of-the-therapist work, and professional opportunities to work with LGB topics and clients. The findings of this study were encouraging as participants reported holding positive beliefs about LGB individuals, that their training programs had fairly affirmative program environments, and that LGB affirmative course content was included in their program curriculum.

The Feminist Couple Therapy Scale: A Measure of Therapists' Ability to Promote Equality in Couple Relationships

This study sought to establish the reliability and validity of the Feminist Couple Therapy Scale (FaCTS) and assess the degree to which couple and family therapists agreed with principles and utilized practices associated with promoting equality in heterosexual couple relationships; 89 participants completed the survey developed for this study. The FaCTS appears to demonstrate good internal reliability (α = 0.96) and construct validity. While participants reported frequent use of some feminist practices associated with promoting equality, participants were less likely to endorse items directly related to addressing patriarchy, male privilege, and gender based power imbalances.

Bisexuality and Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Affirmative Training: An Exploration of Family Therapy Students' Beliefs and Clinical Experiences

Few studies have focused on student therapists’ beliefs about bisexual clients and the impact of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) affirmative training on these beliefs. This study found that the more LGB affirmative training students receive was associated with lower levels of biphobia. The results also suggest that couple and family therapy (CFT) students have similar levels of experience working with bisexual and lesbian clients, but report significantly lower levels of experience with gay clients. Thus, the findings of this study suggest that CFT training programs could implement LGB affirmative training as an effective tool in reducing students’ self-reported levels of biphobia.

Athletes’ perceptions of the climate for sexual and gender minority athletes and their intervention in bias

ABSTRACT Young athletes are engaging in sports in an ever-evolving environment where larger discourses and public opinion polls suggest that attitudes toward sexual and gender minorities (SGM) are becoming more tolerant and affirming. In this mixed-methods study, we examined 151 heterosexual college student athletes’ perceptions of the sports climate for SGM athletes and their own self-reported intervention in SGM-related prejudice in sports. Consistent with studies with SGM-identified athlete samples, participants reported high levels of SGM-related bias in the collegiate sporting context. Although participants reported fairly high levels of personally accepting attitudes toward SGM people, few reported intervening in SGM-related bias. Athletes’ affirming personal beliefs about SGM populations were associated with a greater likelihood of intervening in SGM-related bias, whereas perceptions of a heterosexist sports climate were associated with a lower likelihood of intervening.

Positive Attributes of Never-Married Single Mothers and Fathers: Why Gender Matters and Applications for Family Therapists

Utilizing a feminist framework, this study examined societal perceptions of strengths of never-married custodial single mothers and fathers. Qualitative responses were gathered from 873 participants. The results of the thematic analysis suggested that the positive attributes that participants assign to never-married single mothers and fathers appeared to be more strongly influenced by gender than by single parent status. The results further suggested that participants’ level of expectations was much lower for single fathers when compared with single mothers and that, overall, single mothers were held to a higher standard by participants. These findings have significant clinical implications for family therapists.

How Prepared Are They? Exploring Couple and Family Therapy Faculty Members’ Training Experiences in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Affirmative Therapy

Abstract This study investigated the training that couple and family therapy (CFT) faculty members have received on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) affirmative therapy. The sample consisted of 65 faculty members from accredited CFT programs. The on-line data collection involved two Likert scale items and one open-ended question. The study found that 45.6% of CFT faculty members reported receiving at least some LGB affirmative therapy training during their graduate studies. Additionally, the qualitative data analysis revealed that the LGB affirmative training of faculty members could be described by the following four categories: (1) Negligible Training, (2) Informal Training, (3) Coursework, and (4) Experiential Learning. The findings of this study provide crucial implications for both CFT training programs as well as for current CFT faculty members.

Utilizing Women’s Feminist Identities in Family Therapy: A Phenomenological Exploration of the Meaning Women Assign to their Feminist Identities

This study sought to explore the meaning that women assign to their feminist identities and the relevancy of such identities to family therapy. In particular, this study utilized interviews from women who were active in the women’s movement in the 1970s. The data were organized into four categories: (1) working towards justice, (2) valuing self and other women, (3) women with diverse perspectives, and (4) relevancy to personal lives. The study findings provide important implications for family therapists and highlight the need to explore gender-based oppression as well as the important resource a feminist identity can be in the therapy process.