This pioneering book brings together for the first time the most up-to-date information and thought on gay and lesbian youth in America. Gay adolescents need much more attention than they have been getting from social service providers, and social workers have an ethical obligation to try to meet the service needs of this population. Helping Gay and Lesbian Youth is rich with insight into how gay and lesbian adolescents develop and learn to cope with the problems attendant on growing up different. Shedding new light on this previously underdefined and underserved population, the book addresses social policy issues as well as practical, hands-on counseling issues, and presents a state-of-the-art look at the literature to date. As gay and lesbian youth come out at younger and younger ages, it will be necessary for agencies to do more long-range planning as to how best to meet these adolescents’different needs. Helping Gay and Lesbian Youth alerts agencies that not only are these youth among their target population, but they require special services. Throughout this book, readers can see the importance of long-range planning to meet the service delivery needs of gay adolescents and also the merits of recruiting more gay and lesbian staff to help in policy development and program design. Specific topics related to gay and lesbian adolescents that the book addresses are: legal issues--analyzes the feasibility of minor youth to become empowered through the court and legal systems suicide--challenges previously held beliefs about the suicidality of this group and calls for funding for major research in this area social policy--traces the history of policies typically guiding actions on behalf of gay and lesbian youth and offers guidelines for significant changes in the policy arena development--traces the developmental stages of gay and lesbian youth to navigate adulthood successfully service organizations--lays out models for developing programs throughout the country HIV--assesses levels of risk of HIV infection for this population and describes ways to avoid it Readership should be widespread and varied and include parents trying to understand their gay child; counselors who work with families, children, or adolescents; youth workers and child care staff; foster parents; individuals working in group homes, residential treatment centers, and psychiatric hospitals; and instructors and students in counseling, social work, psychology, child development, and law.

Understanding Gay and Lesbian Youth assists the classroom teacher, school counselor, and administrator in relating to gay and lesbian youth and creating accepting and supportive learning climates. David Campos begins with a discussion of the current state of affairs regarding gay and lesbian youth in schools, including a discourse on the developmental milestones, and provides practical strategies for working effectively with these students. The text, concise, yet comprehensive, features: _

School Experiences of Gay and Lesbian Youth: The Invisible Minority shows teachers, youth advocates, administrators, and academic researchers how to embrace the needs of sexual minority students. Through research and case studies, this book explains the ways in which schools are failing the vulnerable population of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths. This text shows you how to take responsibility for recognizing and protecting the rights and needs of gays and lesbians and ridding schools of discrimination, harassment, and violence. As School Experiences of Gay and Lesbian Youth illustrates, the consequences of the cognitive, social, and emotional isolation that sexual minority youths experience as a result of homophobia and heterosexism can be devastating. With this book’s helpful suggestions, provocative insight, and open challenges, you can help gay and lesbian youths develop feelings of self-worth as well as positive aspirations for their futures. Experiences of Gay and Lesbian Youth will help social workers, psychologists, academics, counselors, and other professionals understand: the dearth of role models in the career development of lesbian and gay youths how to integrate sexual orientation into career counseling how to incorporate the topic of homosexuality into educational curricula forms of homophobia (from the victim’s and the agressor’s points of view) and heterosexism in the high school environment how to open discussions about gay and lesbian issues at school the importance of having visible lesbian, gay, and bisexual staff who can provide support for sexual minority youth School Experiences of Gay and Lesbian Youth also informs you on the experiences gay and lesbian adults who attended high school five to fifty years ago, as well as college students who have reported incidents of homophobic behavior in high school. In addition, this text discusses teachers’fears of being fired as a result of talking about sexual minority issues and how school environments can lead students to become drop outs. Experiences of Gay and Lesbian Youth will inform you on the issues facing gay and lesbian youth and provide you with suggestions on how to make the classroom a welcoming environment, regardless of sexual orientation.

Here is a pioneering volume that explores adolescent homosexuality around the world. Social scientists examine the personal experiences of gay and lesbian teenagers from culture to culture and address the problems and obstacles these young people face. The changing contexts, values, and goals of societies worldwide are affecting how these adolescents adapt to being homosexual, and this compelling book gives keen insight into how changes in the United States contrast with changes elsewhere. A unique and thorough description of the identities, situations, and relationships of homosexual teens in many societies, Gay and Lesbian Youth will help social scientists, health care professionals, counselors, gay teenagers, and their parents to better understand the similarities of the problems facing these youth, while recognizing the minor differences in their social and personal situations. How do the personal experiences of gay and lesbian teenagers vary from culture to culture? Here is the best, most complete description of the identities, situations, and relationships of homosexual teens in many societies. The changing contexts, values, and goals of societies worldwide are affecting how these adolescents adapt to being homosexual, and this compelling book gives keen insight into how changes in the United States contrast with changes elsewhere. Social scientists, health care professionals, counselors, gay teenagers, and their parents will better understand the similarities of the problems facing these youth, while recognizing the minor differences in their social and personal situations. These differences must be understood by interpreting the adaptations of gay and bisexual teenagers around the world.

The editors and contributors of this comprehensive text provide a unique and important contribution to LGBT clinical literature. Spanning 30 chapters, they discuss the diverse and complex issues involved in LGBT couple and family therapy. In almost 15 years, this book provides the first in-depth overview of the best practices for therapists and those in training who wish to work effectively with LGBT clients, couples, and families need to know, and is only the second of its kind in the history of the field. The clinical issues discussed include • raising LGBT children • coming out • elderly LGBT issues • sex therapy • ethical and training issues Because of the breadth of the book, its specificity, and the expertise of the contributing authors and editors, it is the definitive handbook on LGBT couple and family therapy.

Examines the current knowledge base and provides specific recommendations for educators and parents on ways to construct engaging learning environments for all young adolescent girls that promote research-based, high quality, & gender-equitable schooling

This anthology of 19 articles documents the pain & misunderstanding that lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgendered people have experienced in the very recent past and demonstrates the real progress, both in theory & in practice, that has been made in the struggle for equity & social justice. The articles include autobiography, testament, fiction, poetry, and traditional personal & analytic essays, from authors with different intellectual perspectives: human rights, social reform & human justice, feminist, liberationist, and queer theory.

Over the last fifteen years, psychological research regarding sexual orientation has seen explosive growth. In this book, Anthony R. D'Augelli and Charlotte J. Patterson bring together top experts to offer a comprehensive overview of what we have discovered--and what we still need to learn--about lesbian, gay, and bisexual identities. Writing in clear, nontechnical language, the contributors cover a range of topics, including conceptions of sexual identity, development over the lifespan, family and other personal relationships, parenting, and bigotry and discrimination. Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identities Over the Lifespan is essential reading for researchers, students, social scientists, mental health practitioners, and general readers who seek the most up-to-date and authoritative treatment of the subject available.