Same-sex attraction, homosexual orientation, and gay identity: a three-tier distinction for counseling and pastoral care.
Given recent prevalence estimates most pastoral caregivers and counselors will work with persons who experience same-sex attraction (SSA). Many of the people who experience SSA will report such a consistency in the directionality and intensity of their attractions that they think of themselves as having a homosexual orientation. Others will integrate their experiences of SSA into a gay identity. What can facilitate pastoral care and counseling is an intentional use of this three-tier distinction: experiences of SSA, homosexual orientation, and gay identity. A discussion of this three-tier distinction is followed by specific suggestions for utilizing this conceptual framework as a resource in pastoral care and counseling.
Yarhouse
Mark A
MA
School of Psychology and Counseling, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA 23464, USA.
D003376:Counseling; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D010327:Pastoral Care; D012933:Social Identification; D014481:United States