LGBT affirmative psychology: what is it and what is its therapeutic function?

A field of psychology focused on the needs of discriminated minorities.

For centuries, most human societies in the Western world have discriminated against many minorities on the basis of their sexual identity and gender identity. Today, although these discriminatory tendencies are on the decline, they continue to exist, although at the same time there is a growing awareness of the negatives of this phenomenon.

At this meeting point between declining discrimination and rising acceptance, LGBT affirmative psychology emerges. LGBT affirmative psychologyLGBT affirmative psychology: a therapeutic perspective that invites both to care for the well-being of people exposed to attacks because of their sexual or gender identity, on the one hand, and to transform society so that this is no longer necessary and everyone is treated equally.

The impact of LGBT claims on psychology.

Psychology is the science that studies behavior, but we must not forget that behavior also changes psychology itself. It is therefore normal that social transformations have meant that the point of view and the purposes from which psychologists start have changed a lot in recent decades.

An example of this is the way in which awareness of LGBT issues has contributed to making psychology a richer and more useful tool to help a part of the population that is still in need of help. a part of the population that still feels vulnerable in many respects: lesbians, gays, lesbians, gay men and women.lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Where decades ago there was a science that considered homosexuality as intrinsically pathological, today there is one that does not label forms of sexual orientation or gender identity that deviate from heterosexual and cisgender (i.e., from the conventional correspondence between sex and gender) as diseases, while recognizing that discrimination exposes these groups to more psychological problems, statistically.

This has given rise to affirmative psychology, a field of work that focuses on the needs of non-heterosexual and non-cisgender people. Its applied side, affirmative therapyThe goal of affirmative therapy is to understand the mechanisms of LGBT identity construction and, based on them, to help people with problems resulting from discrimination and the social pressure linked to it.

Objectives of affirmative therapy

These are some of the goals often set by LGBT affirmative psychology in helping people who seek help.

1. Treatment of the after-effects of homophobia and transphobia

Unfortunately, even in countries with higher rates of acceptance of homosexuality (such as Spain) and the trans community, attacks with physical or verbal violence are relatively common. Many times, these aggressions occur even during childhood, in contexts of school bullying, and the arrival to adulthood does not prevent similar situations from happening again.

This can facilitate the triggering of psychological disorders such as anxiety or depression, as well as dysmorphic disorder.as well as body dysmorphic disorder. Beyond the physical wounds, going through these experiences contributes to being dissatisfied with one's own body, to blaming oneself for what happened, to social isolation and even to more doubts about one's own identity.

Understanding what it means to go through these kinds of experiences is fundamental to offer professional help to these kinds of victims, many of whom receive continuous attacks on a daily basis. This is one of the goals of LGBT affirmative psychology.

Accompanying and counseling when deciding to become a mother or father.

Motherhood and fatherhood are roles strongly mediated by social conventions; therefore, it is normal to hear a lot of criticism about who should or should not have children, and about which parenting strategies are most useful and which are not. If we add to this the factor of sexual identity and gender identity, to this social pressure must be added the tendency to culturally discriminate against minorities who step outside the norm in these matters, and the existence of legal and institutional barriers that continue to feed the idea that one can only have children if one is heterosexual and cisgender.

As such, psychologists can specialize in helping people who are feeling bad about the prospect of first, having to choose whether or not to raise a baby, and second, dealing with the frustration and anxiety that often comes with having to struggle to do so.

Finding one's own space in LGBT environments

It should not be forgotten that LGBT is not homogeneous, and that even within the groups represented by this acronym there are various "social circles" or sub-collectives. Sometimes, the formation of these sub-categorizations responds to a trend whose existence must be recognized: discrimination within LGBT groups themselves..

This last factor can make it difficult for many people to find their place and their identity even in spaces where no one is heterosexual, for example. While psychotherapy is not enough to solve this, it is also true that affirmative psychology can contribute both to avoiding totally unnecessary forms of discomfort, and to helping victims of discrimination become aware that they that they have nothing to hide and that they should see these attacks as a social problem, not as a defect of theirs as a result of discrimination.as a social problem, not as a flaw in them as individuals. In this way, moreover, it contributes to making an environment predisposed to accept unconventional forms of sexuality and gender identity expression truly inclusive.

Acceptance of one's identity

Finally, the process of accepting oneself contributes to people belonging to these minorities feeling good about their identity for most of the time, and not only not treating it as a taboo, but also normalizing its existence and showing it in their social relationships and in the expression of their sexuality. normalize their existence and show it in their social relationships and in the expression of their sexuality..

Conclusion

It is clear that much remains to be done at the cultural, institutional and political level so that the LGTB collectives cease to have a reason to exist because of the disappearance of discrimination.. However, part of the change also involves spreading the culture of mutual care and acceptance, and these are precisely the pillars of affirmative psychology. For this reason, psychologists who can do our bit in this area do so knowing that we are not only helping the individual who comes to our office; we are also inviting the whole of society into the therapeutic process.