Becoming Visible: Counseling Bisexuals Across the LifespanBeth A. Firestein Columbia University Press, 2007 - 441 pages Becoming Visible offers cutting-edge psychological perspectives on bisexual and queer identities and the cultural and mental health issues facing bisexual, lesbian, gay, queer, and questioning individuals and their partners. Essential for any professional seeking to provide "best practice" services to this population, Becoming Visible addresses the therapeutic needs of bisexuals at every stage of the life cycle. This volume explores why some people resist identity labels and what bisexual men and women consider exemplary and harmful in their therapeutic experiences. It also helps practitioners distinguish between the stresses brought on by being part of a sexual minority and the clinical symptoms that indicate serious mental health issues. It includes research on ethnic minority bisexuals, youth, elders, gender-variant individuals, and bisexuals engaging in alternative lifestyles and sexual practices such as polyamory and BDSM. Edited by a psychologist who specializes in sexual-orientation and gender-identity issues and with contributions from scholars and professionals from multiple disciplines, the book embraces perspectives from the empirical to the phenomenological, and outlines both scientific and practice-based approaches to the subject while carefully considering the psychological, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of the issues confronting bisexual men and women. Becoming Visible is a crucial step in the improved mental health and well-being of bisexuals, transgender individuals, and other sexual minorities. This book offers a path toward awareness and compassion for those who seek to understand, treat, and empower this underserved and frequently misunderstood group of mental health clients. |
Contents
Inventing | 3 |
A Review of Mental Health Research on Bisexual Individuals | 28 |
Bisexual Womens and Mens Experiences of Psychotherapy | 52 |
Copyright | |
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African American American Psychological Association Asian American BDSM biphobia bisexual clients bisexual community bisexual experiences bisexual identity bisexual individuals bisexual Latinos bisexual married bisexual women bisexuals of African butch challenge chapter clinical clinicians context counselors couples culture disability diverse emotional erotic ethnic explore feel female femme Firestein gay and bisexual gay and lesbian gender expression gender identity heterosexual heterosexual spouses homophobia homosexual identify as bisexual identity development invisible minority issues Journal of Bisexuality label Latino lesbian lesbian and gay lifestyle lives marriage mental health multiple multiracial multiracial bisexuals Ochs partners percent person perspectives polyamorous population psychology and politics psychotherapy queer relationship respondents risk role Rust Sage same-sex self-identified sexual attraction sexual behavior sexual identity sexual minority sexual orientation social therapeutic therapists therapy Thousand Oaks tion transgender transsexual understanding University Press violence woman York youth