Psychotherapy of nonheterosexual people from the perspectives of therapists and patients – bilateral expectations and concerns

Abstract

Psychotherapists and LGB people basically agreed upon the therapeutic aims of psychotherapy. The adverse social situation of non-heterosexual people in Poland is a source of their concerns about the psychotherapeutic relations. On the other side the concerns of psychotherapists seem to correspond to some degree with the concerns of LGB people. They both reflect the society, which still struggles with heterosexism and homophobia.

Attitude of Psychiatrists towards homosexuality in India: A survey based cross-sectional study

“…Other concepts towards which the psychiatrists were relatively unfavorable were, in decreasing order: people favoring homosexuality being ho-mosexual themselves, homosexuality as a mental disorder, homosexuality as immoral, avoiding homosexuals whenever possible, not allowing homosexuals to work with children, closing down homosexual bars, homosexuality endangering the institution of the family and homosexuals needing psychological treatment. In the Polish study by Iniewicz et al, although only 45.96% of the psychotherapists believed that homosexual orientation is not a developmental deviation, a small minority (3.54%) believed sexual orientation to be a mental disorder [14]. A detailed review of literature carried out by Stevenson in 2000 concluded that a gay man is no more likely than a straight man to engage in a sexual activity with children, and "cases of perpetration of sexual behavior with a prepubescent child by an adult lesbian are virtually nonexistent" [31].…”

“…This could be due to low self-reporting by patients due to stigma or due to psychiatrists' failure to ask specifically about sexual orientation during history taking [12,13]. In a study in Poland that aimed to assess expectations and concerns of psychotherapists towards non-heterosexual patients, it was reported that around a quarter (22.73%) of respondents had never seen a non-heterosexual patient [14].Often patients have no inhibitions about discussing their sexual orientation but want such topics to be initiated by a doctor [15].We should always try to include the question about sexual orientation in our routine history taking; that way we may be able to identify more homosexual patients during our routine clinical work.…”

“…However, more recent studies have indicated a change, as Tellez et al [20] and Smith et al [21] reported that 73% to 82% of physicians were comfortable seeing homosexual patients. In the study of psychotherapists in Poland, 41.41% of respondents felt that they would be helpless when faced with the social situation of an LGB (lesbian-gaybisexual) person [14].…”

The Relationship between Minority Stress and Depressive Symptoms in the LGBTQA Population from Poland

“…Since minority stress is related to cultural variables in ethnic minorities, specific cultural variables could also be determined for gender and sexual minority populations, but more research is necessary to support this speculation. This Polish study among an SGM population and its clinicians [ 79 ] showed that those with a bisexual sexual identity were afraid of powerlessness in the face of the social situation of LGBTQA people. On the other hand, among homosexuals, the greatest concern was caused by psychotherapists’ attempts to change their sexual orientation.…”