Attachment-Based Family Therapy: for sexual and gender minority young adults and their nonaccepting parents

Although homosexuality is still denounced or even criminalized in many parts of the world, Western society as a whole has become increasingly accepting of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people. Most parents experience some degree of fear, shame, and loss on learning that their own child is same-sex oriented or gender nonconforming. Parents' fear, shame, sense of loss, and anger can lead them to reject their young adult's sexual or gender identity. Parental rejection can destroy the fabric of family relationships. In contrast, parental acceptance has a positive effect on the young adult and on the young adult–parent relationship. For sexual and gender minority young adults, such parental support and connection may be even more critical because they are subjected to minority stress. This book describes the step-by-step process of conducting attachment-based family therapy for sexual and gender minority young adults and their nonaccepting parents (ABFT-SGM). ABFT-SGM is a systematic, empirically informed, LGBTQ+-affirmative, experiential, emotion-focused, and family-based treatment. The treatment comprises five treatment tasks, typically completed in sequence over the course of between 16 and 26 weeks. This book is intended for master's- and doctoral-level clinicians who have at least some training and experience in family therapy.