Emotionally-Focused Couple Therapy and LGBTQ+ Populations. 

Description:

Each letter in the LGBTQ+ alphabet (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, etc.) has its own unique set of challenges and minority stressors. To assume that every minority population experiences the same stressors is both incorrect and ill-informed. EFT would be even more accessible to queer populations by testing its efficacy of long-term satisfaction by researching each individual letter as well as incorporating the accompanying unique minority stressors into the model. Sexual minority stressors have such potential to be integrated into this model specifically so that they can be emotionally processed and consolidated so that the couple can handle them as a team. The research available testing the efficacy and effectiveness of EFT and queer couples is minimal at best. EFT has so many humanistic and normalizing approaches that have the potential to properly hold space for the minority stress and trauma triggers that are present in many LGBTQ+ relationships. This proposal is a call to not only expand the research already available for EFT and queer couples, but it also is an invitation to be more inclusive in future research. This presentation will address the research needed in this area as well as provide an understanding of the LGBTQ + client populations and couples.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to –

1. Describe that LGBTQ+ populations are not a monolith.
2. Explain the need for EFCT to be researched and applied more inclusively to queer couples.
3. Discuss the number of minority stressors that each population faces through an attachment lens.