An Introduction to SIT in Virginia Beach
The student chapter of Chi Sigma Iota in the School of Psychology and Counseling at Regent University has asked me to give a presentation, and I am going to speak on Sexual Identity Therapy (SIT). The presentation is Friday, October 30th, from noon to 1pm on the Regent University campus (CRB 227) for those in the area.
What I’ll be saying by way of introduction is that SIT is an approach to sexual identity in counseling that is a “third way” model that is an alternative to the often-polarized models of gay affirmative therapy and reorientation therapy. Also, the SIT Framework is itself an approach that fills a void identified by the American Psychological Association’s (APA’s) task force on appropriate therapeutic responses to sexual orientation. That is, in their recently released background document the task force encouraged alternative models that were affirmative but not gay affirmative. Affirmative models would be client-centered and identity-focused; they would also emphasize social support and coping skills. The SIT Framework was identified as one such appropriate approach, as was the narrative sexual identity therapy model that I previously published in American Journal of Family Therapy.
For this initial presentation, rather than go into narrative sexual identity therapy, I will just review the four main concepts in how I provide SIT: (1) the three-tier distinction (between same-sex attraction, homosexual orientation, and gay identity), (2) weighted aspects of identity, (3) ‘attributional search’ for identity, and (4) congruence.
SIT Framework and Working with Mixed Orientation Couples
I (Mark) will be presenting the SIT Framework at the American Association of Christian Counselor’s (AACC) World Conference in Nashville on Friday, September 18th. The title of the talk is “Working with Mixed Sexual Orientation Couples.” Mixed orientation couples are couples in which one partner experiences same-sex attraction and the other does not. This presentation is a conceptual paper based on our review of the literature (I am co-presenting with Jill Kays, a doctoral student in clinical psychology whose dissertation deals with this subject) and a previous five-year longitudinal study of ‘resilient couples,’ or couples in mixed orientation marriages who stayed together and reported marital satisfaction.
Sexual Identity Therapy (SIT) represents one stage in our four-stage approach to working with mixed orientation couples. In this context, SIT is provided to the sexual minority who is making decisions about his or her identity and behavior, as well as the unique considerations in that type of relationship. Other stages address the important relational considerations, such as dealing with disclosure or discovery and, for those couples who are interested in the relationship, clinicians can follow recommendations for improving the marriage.
The conference location is the Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville. The session is scheduled for 8:45-10:00am on Friday morning. I will post some of the PowerPoint slides on the site after the workshop.SIS
Sexual identity therapy framework in the Wall Street Journal
During the first week of August, the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation released a report outlining findings of a two year investigation. The sexual identity therapy framework was referenced prominently and favorably in the report. An upcoming post will provide more information on the APA report.
This post notes an article in the Wall Street Journal by Stephanie Simon which describes the new APA report and the similarity between the APA suggestions and the SIT framework. Here are excerpts:
The men who seek help from evangelical counselor Warren Throckmorton often are deeply distressed. They have prayed, read Scripture, even married, but they haven’t been able to shake sexual attractions to other men — impulses they believe to be immoral.
Dr. Throckmorton is a psychology professor at a Christian college in Pennsylvania and past president of the American Mental Health Counselors Association. He specializes in working with clients conflicted about their sexual identity.
The first thing he tells them is this: Your attractions aren’t a sign of mental illness or a punishment for insufficient faith. He tells them that he cannot turn them straight.
But he also tells them they don’t have to be gay.
For many years, Dr. Throckmorton felt he was breaking a professional taboo by telling his clients they could construct satisfying lives by, in effect, shunting their sexuality to the side, even if that meant living celibately. That ran against the trend in counseling toward “gay affirming” therapy — encouraging clients to embrace their sexuality.
But in a striking departure, the American Psychological Association said Wednesday that it is ethical — and can be beneficial — for counselors to help some clients reject gay or lesbian attractions.
The approach described in the article is not step-by-step the methodology of the SIT framework. This is because we designate an individualized approach which may involve some of the steps noted in the WSJ article but not all and certainly not in any set order.
The SIT framework is not about the pursuit of sexual reorientation but rather the pursuit of chosen values. The APA report describes the SIT framework as one of several approaches in the professional literature which meet the APA model.
The APA report mentions as one possible framework the approach taken by Dr. Throckmorton, who teaches at Grove City College and has a Ph.D. in community counseling. He starts by helping clients prioritize their values. Then he shows them stock video of a brain responding to sexual stimuli. When the clients see how quickly the brain lights up, they often feel relieved, he said, because they realize that their attractions are deeply rooted.
Dr. Throckmorton says at that point, some clients choose to accept a gay identity. Others, however, say they prefer to live in accordance with their faith.
In therapy that can last years, Dr. Throckmorton says he tries to help these clients accept that their attractions will not go away — but need not define them. Many clients, he said, learn to override sexual impulses, reminding themselves that what looks like an oasis will only “take me farther away from what I really want to be,” as he puts it.
Stay tuned for more about the APA report and the SIT framework.
