Clinical Intervention Training 2 - Responding to Sexual and Gender Minority Stress: Transdiagnostic Behavioral Approaches
Thursday, November 17, 2022
8:30 AM – 5:00 PM EST
Location: Marquis Ballroom C, 9th Floor
Earn 7 CE Credit
Keywords: LGBTQ+, Therapeutic Relationship, Transdiagnostic Level of Familiarity: Moderate to High Recommended Readings: Eaton, N. R., Rodriguez-Seijas, C., & Pachankis, J. E. (2021). Transdiagnostic approaches to sexual-and gender-minority mental health. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 30(6), 510-518. Rincón, C.L., Muñoz-Martínez, A.M., Hoeflein, B.T.R., & Skinta, M. D. (2021). Enhancing Interpersonal Intimacy in Colombian Gay Men Using Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: An Experimental Non-Concurrent Multiple Baseline Design. Cognitive & Behavioral Practice. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpra.2021.10.003 Rodriguez-Seijas, C., Morgan, T. A., & Zimmerman, M. (2021). Is there a bias in the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder among lesbian, gay, and bisexual patients?. Assessment, 28(3), 724-738. Skinta, M. D. (2020). Contextual behavior therapy for sexual and gender minority clients: A practical guide to treatment. Routledge.
Assistant Professor Roosevelt University Chicago, Illinois
Sexual and gender minority stress appear to contribute to a variety of transdiagnostic concerns among sexual orientation and gender diverse people. This workshop will teach process-based behavioral techniques that take advantage of research on minority stress and processes that foster resilience and well-being. The workshop will incorporate both theoretical and experiential work. Moving through life as a sexual or gender minoritized person often entails some period of secrecy, guardedness, shame, and familial ruptures. We will explore the therapeutic techniques that tackle these concerns in the therapy hour and within the therapeutic relationship. This workshop will also aid clinicians in cultivating their own compassion and values toward meeting the challenges of moving through life as a SGM person, particularly through targeting the therapist’s own history of cultural messages about gender and sexuality. Through the use of awareness, courage, therapeutic love, compassion, perspective-taking, and acceptance, participants will grow in their ability to relate as from the perspective of self-awareness of their own sexual orientation and gender. Clinician's will leave with a greater understanding of how concepts such as minority stress, rejection sensitivity, and shame can be better responded to in session.
Outline: I. A contextual behavioral analysis of minority stress. 0. Understanding the current state of treatment and mistreatment of sexual orientation and gender diverse clients. 1. Awareness of social and political sources of bias that evoke and maintain unworkable relational patterns. 2. Understanding one’s own history of behaviors and learning associated with sexual and gendered behavior, particularly among heterosexual, cisgender therapists who have less experience questioning these contingencies. 3. Knowledge of common behavioral responses to stigma and marginalization. II. Specific interventions that target minority stress processes. 0. Diversify skills associated with working with stigmatizing cognitions, particularly options the do not emphasize cognitive disputation. 1. Explore concrete steps to work with interpersonal guardedness and to undermine rejection sensitivity. 2. Consider the importance of compassion and self-compassion techniques in reducing shame. 3. Explore the relationship between pliance, contingent self-worth, and valued action as a remedy.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the session, the learner will be able to:
Identify how sexual and gender minority stress have a transdiagnostic effect on well-being and health.
Explain how societal bias contributes to rejection sensitivity among sexual orientation and gender diverse people.
Demonstrate willingness to amend their work with sexual orientation and gender diverse clients when microaggressions occur in therapy.
Describe how compassion-based interventions ameliorate the impact of shame.
Become aware of the global impact of anti-LGBTQ bias within the United States.
Long-Term Goal: Increase an awareness of the relational and social impact of minority stress, as reflected by both transdiagnostic and non-diagnostic behavior patterns.
Long-Term Goal:• Develop an awareness of how heterocentrism and ciscentrism increase the likelihood of microaggressions in therapy, and how to use that awareness to repair ruptures.