Couples Therapy With Same-Sex Couples

For much of psychology’s history, sexual minority populations were largely excluded from research, and same-sex desire was considered pathological. There are, however, indications that, as tolerance for and acceptance of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations have increased in society, researchers and practitioners have begun to respect and acknowledge the unique issues that LGB people might face, both as individuals and as couples. Couples therapists, in particular, have demonstrated an increased interest in same-sex couples therapy and have begun incorporating LGB issues into traditional models of couples therapy. For example, there was a 238.8% increase in total LGB content published in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy from 1995 to 2010. This entry discusses the issues that therapists are advised to take into account ...