Fall Training Announced
Dr. Mark Yarhouse is offering an all-day workshop on addressing sexual identity in clinical practice. The workshop will be held on the Regent University campus in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It will be held Friday, October 1st, 2010, from 9am to 4pm. On-line registration is now available here.
From the registration page:
This workshop will introduce participants to sexual identity issues often addressed in clinical practice. Participants will learn about professional and ethical issues in navigating sexual and religious identity considerations. Participants will also learn foundations for the practical applications of sexual identity therapy in their work with people who experience same-sex attractions.
The workshop is co-sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Sexual Identity and Genesis Counseling Center.
Understanding Sexual Identity Therapy
This past year I’ve dealt with an interesting challenge that faces Christians who produce scholarship in controversial areas. My area is sexual identity, and I’ve been researching and providing services in this area for many years now. There are not many models for how to do integration in this area, and there are few people even doing it. So the challenges are plentiful.
Specifically, the topic I’m addressing is how to provide clinical services to people who are sorting out sexual identity issues. The model I’ve been developing (and the accompanying framework I’ve been co-developing with Warren Throckmorton) is referred to as sexual identity therapy (SIT). What is SIT and how did it come about?
SIT is essentially a client-centered and identity-focused approach to navigating sexual identity questions or concerns. It has often been contrasted to reorientation therapy and gay affirmative therapy. It is based on the idea of helping people reach congruence, so that they live and identify themselves in a way that is consistent with their beliefs and values. Sexual attractions or orientation may or may not change, but the overall emphasis is on identity. Read more
SIT and Pastoral Care II
Next week I will be travelling to Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, for a series of talks. At Asbury I’ll be giving chapel addresses, meeting with Student Development staff, and participating in various panel discussions and coffee shop discussions.
The time as Asbury Theological Seminary will focus on pastoral care and applications of the three-tier distinction between same-sex attractions, homosexual orientation, and gay identity and how that distinction can be a helpful reference point in Sexual Identity Therapy. I will also contrast an emphasis on orientation with an emphasis on sexual identity, look at the potential benefits and drawbacks, as well as the importance of achieving personal congruence through pastoral care.
