Publications

Owing to widespread condemnation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ+) people among many mainstream religious and spiritual traditions, evidence suggests that many LGBTQ+ individuals face considerable conflict related to spiritual and religious identity. Some LGBTQ+ individuals manage to reconcile their LGBTQ+ and spiritual identities, while others even view their LGBTQ+ identity as a spiritual one. This qualitative research focused on the experience of LGBTQ+ identity as spiritual identity. Ten participants were interviewed via email by the researcher and data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The data were organized into three primary themes, each comprised of three to four subthemes. Findings indicate that LGBTQ+ identity as spiritual identity is experienced as a sense of connection and capacity for connection, a set of unique perspectives on various aspects of life, and a sense of having varied spiritual roles to play in the world.

Cognitive-behavioral interventions for anxiety and obsessive–compulsive disorder have received a great deal of attention for their growing evidence base. These therapies focus on symptom elimination by way of cognitive and behavioral change and, though undoubtedly helpful, miss important symbolic aspects of the client’s experience of these disorders that have the potential for meaning and the resolution of traumatic history. Jungian psychotherapy, like other depth-oriented and humanistically oriented approaches, is concerned both with meaning in the client’s life and the process by which the client becomes more themselves by integrating fragmented, wounded, and hidden aspects of the psyche—a process known as individuation. This article integrates Jungian concepts with trauma theory to generate an integrative framework for psychotherapy with individuals with anxiety and obsessive–compulsive disorder. The case of “Stefan,” which provides a description of trauma-informed psychotherapy incorporating eye movement desensitization and reprocessing within a Jungian framework, is then presented to illustrate key elements of this theoretical integration.

The following is a poetic transcription presented as a 12-part poem. The author constructed the poem from an email interview conducted with “Donovan,” a 61-year-old, White, gay man. The interview was part of a larger study on the experience of LGBTQ+ identity as spiritual identity, which focused on individuals who believe their LGBTQ+ identity is imbued or imbues their life with spiritual qualities. Donovan is a monk in a tradition that blends Hinduism, Buddhism, Native American Spirituality, and Paganism and that honors the “Hayamoni,” a Pali word for Two-Spirit people. The narrative poem reflects his perspective on the experience and meaning of LGBTQ+ spiritual identity in his life. The poem is presented without a literature review in an effort to privilege Donovan’s lived experience and perspective.

This article utilizes interpretive poetry to explore the lived experience of the family coming–out crisis from the perspective of seven self-identified gay men who faced negative parental reactions to their disclosure of gay identity. The interpretive poems, each of which explores a theme from participants’ narratives, were written by the author in response to poetic transcriptions derived from analysis of semistructured interviews. In the spirit of poetic inquiry, the interpretive poems are meant to be evocative, so as to elicit embodied, empathic understanding in the reader. Following the interpretive poems, the author reflects on the use of interpretive poetry as a framework in which to understand the poems and their intent.

Research suggests that, compared to heterosexual counterparts, gay men and other sexual minorities are at higher risk of developing emotional distress and mental disorders. The sexual minority stress model attributes these health disparities to the chronic social stress that arises in response to exposure to antigay mistreatment and sexual prejudice pervasive in the culture. Little research has been done to illuminate the lived experience of exposure to prejudiced behaviors and attitudes and this inquiry aims to begin to fill this gap by addressing the following questions: What is the experience of being mistreated for being gay or perceived as gay? What is the experience of being exposed to sexual prejudice when one is gay? Using the writing of autobiographical poetry as a process of inquiry and the resulting poems as narrative data, I explore my own experiences with antigay encounters and sexual prejudice over the course of my life. The intent is to vivify and magnify the phenomenon under investigation via evocative poetic renderings aimed to foster empathy and embodied understanding in the reader.

The following brief report is a poetic transcription presented as a 12-part narrative poem. The author constructed the poem from an interview conducted with “Andrew,” an adopted, 26-year-old, gay, Caucasian man. The interview was part of a pilot study on the experience facing negative parental reactions to the disclosure of gay identity; however, as the poem reflects, the narrative extends far beyond this research aim to include Andrew’s experience growing up gay in a conservative, religious family and his struggle to reconcile his faith with his sexual orientation. The author attempted to convey in the poem Andrew’s voice with particular attention to his speaking rhythm, pauses, silences, breath, and interruptions. The poem is presented without contextualizing literature in an effort to let Andrew speak directly to the reader, who is invited to take in his story without preconceived ideas and thereby foster direct empathic understanding of his experience.

The disclosure of gay identity is considered an important step in the process of gay identity development. However, disclosure—especially to parents—is stressful for sexual minority individuals. Research suggests that most parents respond negatively to the news of their son’s gay identity, and that such negative reactions pose significant risks to that child’s well-being. In this article, the author presents selected findings from his dissertation research, a poetic inquiry into the lived experience of facing negative parental reactions to the disclosure of gay identity. The article begins with a review of the gay identity development, sexual minority stress, and family disclosure literature. Next, the author describes his selected method, poetic inquiry, as an approach to research that aligns with humanistic psychotherapy. In the results section, six poetic transcriptions detailing four participants’ narratives about postdisclosure interactions with parents provide an in-depth look at the challenge gay men face when negotiating negative parental reactions. Finally the article concludes with a brief summary and a discussion of the reasons that poetic inquiry was chosen for research on this topic.

With the development of effective antiretroviral medications, long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS are confronted with life, a surprising reality many never expected. In this article, the author draws from his clinical experience to explore the existential dimensions of the experience of gay long-term survivors. In particular, the existential givens, as advanced by James Bugental, Tom Greening, and Irvin Yalom, are used as a framework in which to understand the challenges many long-term survivors face. Drawing from his clinical work with this enduring population, the author elaborates the profound nature of these challenges and the way in which the givens shed light on their ontological roots. The article concludes with an examination of survivor guilt, existential guilt, and their interplay in the lives of long-term survivors.