Genealogy's Desire: Practices of Kinship Amongst Lesbian and Gay Foster-Carers and Adopters

Abstract

Background: Cognitive Muscular TherapyTM (CMT) is an integrated behavioural intervention developed for knee osteoarthritis. CMT teaches patients to reconceptualise the condition, integrates muscle biofeedback and aims to reduce muscle overactivity, both in response to pain and during daily activities. This nested qualitative study explored patient and physiotherapist perspectives and experiences of CMT.Methods: Five physiotherapists were trained to follow a well-defined protocol and then delivered CMT to at least two patients with knee osteoarthritis. Each patient received seven individual clinical sessions and was provided with access to online learning materials incorporating animated videos. Semi-structured interviews took place after delivery/completion of the intervention and data were analysed at the patient and physiotherapist level.Results: Five physiotherapists and five patients were interviewed. All described a process of changing beliefs throughout their engagement with CMT. A framework with three phases was developed to organise the data according to how osteoarthritis was conceptualised and how this changed throughout their interactions with CMT. Firstly, was an identification of pain beliefs to be challenged and recognition of how current beliefs can misalign with daily experiences. Secondly was a process of challenging and changing beliefs, validated through new experiences. Finally, there was an embedding of changed beliefs into self-management to continue with activities. Conclusion:This study identified a range of psychological changes which occur during exposure to CMT. These changes enabled patients to reconceptualise their condition, develop a new understanding of their body, understand psychological processes, and make sense of their knee pain.

‘It's All a Bit Pantomime’: An Exploratory Study of Gay and Lesbian Adopters and Foster-Carers in England and Wales

“…Perhaps the most substantial research conducted in the UK around gay and lesbian adoption and fostering, is that carried out by Hicks (1996Hicks ( , 1998Hicks ( , 2000Hicks ( , 2006aHicks ( b, 2008aHicks ( b, 2011Hicks ( , 2013, and Hicks and McDermott (1999). Building on the initial findings of Skeates and Jabri (1988), their work identified that gay and lesbian applicants were often associated with a degree of 'risk' and were closely scrutinised during assessment.…”

“…Gender role modelling still needs reconsidering, so that professionals undertake a more nuanced approach to gender (Hicks, 2008b). Similarly, whilst the cultural reverence for the nuclear family and relationships based solely on biological relatedness has been challenged elsewhere (Hicks, 2006a(Hicks, , 2014, this is still implicit in many key stages of the process. Adoption in particular, remains embodied within an assumption of applicant infertility, although lesbian and gay candidates do not necessarily experience this in the same way.…”

Australian Lesbian and Gay Foster Carers Negotiating the Child Protection System: Strengths and Challenges

“…Both Australian and international research on lesbian and gay foster carers has to date produced an overwhelmingly negative image of child protection systems. This research highlights at least five areas where discrimination occurs against lesbian and gay foster carers: (1) 'considerable scrutiny of their parenting ability and capacity to raise children' (Brooks and Goldberg 2001, 154;Riggs 2006b); (2) 'outright rejection… on the basis of their sexuality alone' (Hicks 2005b, 43-44); (3) an implicit expectation to 'educate social workers' about issues pertaining to non-heterosexual people in order to be fairly considered as applicants (Hicks 2005b;Riggs 2007); (4) the prevalence of a 'don't ask don't tell' policy that has until recently been implicit to UK assessment procedures (Hicks 2000) and which US research suggests continues to be implicit to US assessment procedures (Matthew and Cramer 2006); and (5) requests made to lesbian and gay applicants to demonstrate that they will provide appropriate 'opposite sex role models' to children in their care (Hicks 2000;Riggs and Augoustinos 2009). …”

“…In the context of child protection, research suggests that this can be potentially beneficial for children in care. A key example of this is the suggestion that many lesbians and gay men consider fostering as a first option for starting a family, rather than as 'second best' to biological reproduction (Hicks 2005b;Mallon 2006). Mallon infers from this that lesbian and gay carers often succeed in caring for children with high needs as a result of this commitment to foster parenting as a first option.…”

Stigmatization and Resilience in Adolescent Children of Lesbian Mothers

“…The longitudinal design of the NLLFS is considered one of the most effective methods of documenting the psychosocial evolution of contemporary families (Hicks, 2005;Lambert, 2005). The aim of this study on planned lesbian families is to report on the innovative parenting styles of lesbian mothers, to assess the effects of homophobic stigmatization on the psychological development of the children, and to explore ways of reducing the impact of homophobia on children's lives and well-being (Gartrell et al, 1996).…”