Dr. Mark Yarhouse coauthored an article with Dr. Lee Beckstead that appears in the journal, Counseling and Values, Vol. 56, no. 1-2, October 2011. The article is titled, “Using Group Therapy to Navigate and Resolve Sexual Orientation and Religious Conflicts.”
Here is the abstract:
This article considers the use of group therapy to explore sexual identity questions in light of religious beliefs and values. The authors describe the basis of their group therapy approaches for sexual, religious, and social conflicts that differ from approaches that provide group members only the option of sexual reorientation to an ex-gay identity or adoption of a lesbian, gay, or bisexual identity. The authors come from different backgrounds and discuss how their perspectives and biases can potentially affect group process and outcome. They present guidelines, structure, content, and strategies for their group therapy approaches.
The Sexual Identity Therapy (SIT) Framework is discussed in the journal article as one of several emerging approaches to resolving sexual identity conflicts. Dr. Yarhouse then goes on to write about how he conducts group therapy within the SIT Framework by drawing on cognitive-behavioral, person-centered, and narrative theoretical orientations by focusing on attributional search for sexual identity, navigating religious identity, and facilitating personal congruence. The articles closes with a discussing of the authors’ combined understanding in terms of how their approaches are similar and strategies they recommend for resolving sexual identity conflicts.
