scholarly journals The Attitudes and Experiences of Marriage and Family Counselors for Same-Sex Couple and Family Clients: A Qualitative Study

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Luis Miguel Dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Family Counseling ◽  
Counseling Services ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Marriage And Family ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Family Counselors ◽  
Personal Bias ◽  
Family Issues ◽  
Marriage And Family Counselors

Same-sex marriage and family counselors usually do not have enough experience and training background to help same-sex couples with marriage and family issues. Some counselors may have a personal bias toward same-sex couples due to the absence of same-sex couples and families’ background. Marriage and family counselors provide counseling services to their clients with marriage and family problems and conflicts, resulting in a positive recovery negotiation. The purpose of this study was to understand and investigate the attitudes of marriage and family counselors regarding same-sex couples and families, an area ignored in mainstream marriage and family counseling. Based on 300 surveys and 38 interviews from marriage and family counselors in the United States, the researcher categorized that more than half of the participants expressed negative attitudes against same-sex couples and families, due to cheating, unsafe sexual activities, and domestic violence. Some counselors refused to provide counseling services to same-sex couples and families due to misunderstanding and prejudice. The results suggested that additional in-service professional developments and curriculum reforms are essential to promoting multicultural family structure.   Received: 13 September 2021 / Accepted: 25 November 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

scholarly journals Same-Sex Couples and Cognitive Impairment: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Liu ◽  
Ning Hsieh ◽  
Zhenmei Zhang ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Kenneth M Langa
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Cognitive Status ◽  
Health And Retirement Study ◽  
Sex Partners ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Objectives We provide the first nationally representative population-based study of cognitive disparities among same-sex and different-sex couples in the United States. Methods We analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study (2000–2016). The sample included 23,669 respondents (196 same-sex partners and 23,473 different-sex partners) aged 50 and older who contributed to 85,117 person-period records (496 from same-sex partners and 84,621 from different-sex partners). Cognitive impairment was assessed using the modified version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status. Mixed-effects discrete-time hazard regression models were estimated to predict the odds of cognitive impairment. Results The estimated odds of cognitive impairment were 78% (p < .01) higher for same-sex partners than for different-sex partners. This disparity was mainly explained by differences in marital status and, to a much lesser extent, by differences in physical and mental health. Specifically, a significantly higher proportion of same-sex partners than different-sex partners were cohabiting rather than legally married (72.98% vs. 5.42% in the study sample), and cohabitors had a significantly higher risk of cognitive impairment than their married counterparts (odds ratio = 1.53, p < .001). Discussion The findings indicate that designing and implementing public policies and programs that work to eliminate societal homophobia, especially among older adults, is a critical step in reducing the elevated risk of cognitive impairment among older same-sex couples.

Children of Same-Sex Couples

2020 ◽  
pp. 230-242
Author(s):  
Debra M. Perez
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Type ◽  
Blended Families ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Shared Experiences ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Minority People

As the United States becomes more accepting of sexual minority people, more opportunities have become available for same-sex couples to become parents. Blended families with a new stepparent, planned families via insemination, as well as adoption and fostering are changing what defines a family. As the definition of a family changes, so must the ways in which schools interact with each family type. The shared experiences of sexual minority parents and their children are explored, and recommendations for schools are made.

scholarly journals Minimizing and addressing microaggressions in the workplace: Be proactive, part 2

2018 ◽  
Vol 79 (10) ◽  
pp. 538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamika Dalton ◽  
Michele Villagran
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Work Productivity ◽  
The United States ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
History Plays ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Underrepresented Groups ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Movement Discrimination

Our nation’s history plays a huge role in the way we perceive underrepresented groups. From slavery to segregation, to the inequality in compensation for women and people of color, to the refusal to wed same sex couples, discrimination and opposition has plagued the United States for decades. Since the Civil Rights Movement, discrimination towards underrepresented groups has shifted from overt acts to subtle and semiconscious manifestations called microaggressions. These manifestations reside in well-intentioned individuals who are often unaware of their biased beliefs, attitudes, and actions. They can lead to inequities within our relationships and affect our work productivity.

scholarly journals Couple-Level Minority Stress and Mental Health among People in Same-Sex Relationships: Extending Minority Stress Theory

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen J. LeBlanc ◽  
David M. Frost
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Minority Stress ◽  
Depressive Symptomatology ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Stress Theory ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Minority Stress Theory

We simultaneously examined the effects of individual- and couple-level minority stressors on mental health among people in same-sex relationships. Individual-level minority stressors emerge from the stigmatization of sexual minority individuals; couple-level minority stressors emerge from the stigmatization of same-sex relationships. Dyadic data from 100 same-sex couples from across the United States were analyzed with actor–partner interdependence models. Couple-level stigma was uniquely associated with nonspecific psychological distress, depressive symptomatology, and problematic drinking, net the effects of individual-level stigma and relevant sociodemographic controls. Analyses also show that couple-level minority stress played unique roles in critical stress processes of minority stress proliferation: minority stress expansion and minority stress contagion. The inclusion of couple-level stress constructs represents a useful extension of minority stress theory, enriching our capacity to deepen understandings of minority stress experience and its application in the study of well-being and health inequalities faced by vulnerable populations.

James and the Megan Family: Navigating Court and Allegations of Abuse

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-235
Author(s):  
Bret Hendricks ◽  
Ann Ordway ◽  
Loretta Bradley ◽  
Nicole Noble
Keyword(s):  
Professional Ethics ◽  
International Association ◽  
Standards Of Care ◽  
Ethics Codes ◽  
Marriage And Family ◽  
Family Counselors ◽  
Standards Of Practice ◽  
Ethics Code ◽  
Marriage And Family Counselors

Couples and family counselors daily encounter ethical dilemmas. These dilemmas are complex and multifaceted. This article is written to discuss and provide information to couples and family counselors who seek to work ethically with clients who have been accused of abuse to minors. The authors of this article consulted an expert in ethics and standards of care related to the abuse of minors to identify ethical analysis of dilemmas through a fictional case study. The respondent to the case study provides recommendations to assist couples and family counselors as they follow the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors Ethics Code as well as other professional ethics codes and standards of practice.

Sexuality, Third-Party Harms, and the “Live-and-Let-Live” Approach to Religious Exemptions

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-61
Author(s):  
Carlos A. Ball
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Religious Dissent ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Antidiscrimination Law ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender ◽  
History Of

For several years now, a group of prominent religious liberty scholars in the United States have been defending what they call a “live-and-let-live” approach to accommodating religious dissent in the era of marriage equality. The proposed approach calls on the state to avoid taking sides on contested moral issues when individuals of faith claim that their religious beliefs require them to refrain from facilitating marriages by same-sex couples. The objective, it is argued, is to adopt policies that allow both sides to live according to their values. This article critiques the “live-and-let-live” solution to religious exemptions from LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) equality measures by focusing on questions of harms. It argues that the proposed approach calls for a weighing of harms that is largely unprecedented in the history of American antidiscrimination law and problematic in its own right. The article also explains that the approach is premised on questionable assumptions and predictions about the absence of any meaningful harm to LGBT individuals when business owners provide goods and services to the general public, but refuse to do so for same-sex couples on religious grounds.

Emotional Intelligence and the Counselor: Examining the Relationship of Trait Emotional Intelligence to Counselor Burnout

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Gutierrez ◽  
Patrick R. Mullen
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Trait Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Marriage And Family ◽  
Counselor Burnout ◽  
Family Counselors ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Marriage And Family Counselors ◽  
Variance Explained

Given the intimate and emotional nature of counseling, counselors are often highly susceptible to counselor burnout. Scholars have reported on how important it is for counselors to find strategies that mitigate stressful scenarios and prevent burnout. Emotional intelligence could be a preventative factor. This article describes a correlational investigation that examined the relationship of practicing mental health and marriage and family counselors' (N = 539) emotional intelligence to their degree of burnout. The results from this study indicate that participants' level of emotional intelligence negatively predicted their level of burnout (r = −.62, p < .001; 38% of the variance explained). This article provides a description of our findings, suggestions for future research, and implications for counselors.

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