Being Sexual: Existential Contributions to Psychotherapy with Gay Male Clients

Abstract

This paper outlines the existential-phenomenological (E-P) approach to psychotherapy and considers some of its core concepts, the stance taken to understanding sexuality and the implications for therapeutic practice with gay male clients. Three previously published case studies are reviewed to provide illustrations of the approach, and the paper concludes by arguing that a non-pathologising view of sexuality is useful in assisting clients in therapy and in assisting therapists and services in understanding their clients without problematising them.

Intersectional asexual and transgender and gender diverse identity and existential concerns: A thematic analysis.

“…This tendency makes asexual TGD people, who already tend to feel invisible, more invisible to researchers and clinicians and may negatively affect psychological well-being. Although Kelleher and Murphy (2022) researched asexual identity development and internalization among asexual individuals, qualitative research has not focused explicitly on the lived experiences associated with identities held by asexual TGD individuals using an existential lens as it has with sexual minority (Milton, 2007), gender minority (Richards, 2016), racial and ethnic minority (Story, 2017), and intersectional sexual and racial/ethnic minority individuals (White & Palacios, 2020).…”