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Sexual and Relationship TherapyPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/csmt20

Gay affirmative therapy for the straightclinician – the essential guideNick Mepham aa Nottingham Gender Clinic , Nottingham, UKPublished online: 26 Nov 2008.

To cite this article: Nick Mepham (2008) Gay affirmative therapy for the straight clinician – theessential guide, Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 23:4, 435-436, DOI: 10.1080/14681990802400712

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14681990802400712

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Feeling queer or queer feelings? A radical approaches to counselling sex, sexualities andgenders, edited by Lyndsey Moon. London: Routledge, 2008, 146 pages £22.99(paperback). ISBN 978-0-415-38521-3.

This book has been written for both counselling clinicians working in the areas of sexualityand gender and others interested in gender studies. It presents ‘‘innovative andcontemporary ideas’’ for counsellors and other interested parties to consider in theirwork with non-heterosexual clients. The book draws from such disciplines as psychology,sociology, philosophy, psychoanalysis, systemic and social constructivist theory. Accord-ing to the editor’s introduction the main aim of the book is to challenge our binarythinking (with reference to sexuality and gender) and to explore how this has impactednegatively on theoretical frameworks and working modalities utilised when working withclients who identify as non-heterosexual. Furthermore it seeks to present ‘‘new’’ ways ofthinking and working in this area.

The chapters include theoretical perspectives in relation to power within thetherapeutic encounter, coming out of heterosexuality, the negotiation of emotion withintherapy, theory and applied work in relation to intersexuality, the meanings fortransgender sexuality, working with HIV and sexual negotiation of bondage anddiscipline, domination and submission and sadomasochism (BDSM) within sexualisedinteractions. The book really begins with a chapter that clearly sets out what is meant byqueer theory, how it emerged and its implications for the therapeutic setting. Whilst thiswas interesting and important, I felt at times a little ‘‘bogged down’’ in the sociologicaldiscourse presented.

The chapters that I (as a practising therapist) found most accessible and useful wherethose exploring counselling people with intersex conditions, transpeople’s livedexperiences and intimate partnerships, queer in practice: therapy and queer therapy andkinky counselling: the challenges and potential of BDSM. All of which provided usefulinformation and perspectives to take into the therapy room.

The book, on the whole was quite readable (although at times I found thephilosophical and sociological narratives a little hard to grasp), it did present severalareas of new knowledge. It would be a good resource for counsellors or therapists intraining, together with their trainers, as this is an area which is under represented in mosttraining programmes.

JOY HALLHead of Division, Women’s Health

Faculty of Health, Birmingham City UniversityBirmingham, UK

DOI: 10.1080/14681990802345784

Gay affirmative therapy for the straight clinician – the essential guide, by Joe Kort. London:WW Norton, 2008, 292 pages, £19.99 (hardback). ISBN 978-0-393-70497-6.

I, as the aforementioned ‘‘straight clinician’’, thought I was pretty well informed, liberaland insightful when it comes to the ambiguities of human sexuality and societies’ reactionto it, so it was with intrigue rather than any great anticipation that I explored this well-written but not always superbly proofread volume.

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If I began as skeptical about concepts such as Covert Cultural Sexual Abuse orPost Traumatic Stress Disorder from experiencing a gay childhood, the author’simpressively and accessibly written account of Gay Affirmative Therapy began to drawme in.

Gay Affirmative Therapy aims to self-actualize those who are gay or lesbian, and thosearound them, by recognizing, exploring and overcoming psychological dysfunctionssurrounding the journey to full expression of one’s core identity.

But this text is more than a set of psychological tools; it aims to arm the straightclinician with the vocabulary, hard won insight and social wisdom to maximize successwith gay and lesbian therapeutic clients. In my opinion it succeeds admirably.

It is hard not to be impressed by the author’s warmth, depth and almost evangelicalenthusiasm for his subject. He has clearly found a vocation and manages to express hisknowledge in a humane, non-preachy style. Never afraid to share his own history andtherapeutic stumbling blocks, the myriad case histories, often from the supervision ofother therapists, enlighten and bring a real-world feel to the theory. I got the distinctimpression he has helped a great number of people and is sharing his knowledge so thatothers may do likewise.

I found myself questioning my own attitudes several times and, as much as I didn’twant to admit it at first, Mr. Kort was right on the money. The text evolves naturally fromspecific theories to ever wider applications of same, never losing sight of the individualwho is seeking therapy.

I would heartily recommend this text to any ‘‘straight clinicians’’ working with gay orlesbian clients, whether comfortably or less so and especially if, like me, your first reactionis ‘‘I already know as much as I need to about that’’.

NICK MEPHAMNottingham Gender Clinic

Nottingham, UKDOI: 10.1080/14681990802400712

Choosing to heal: using reality therapy in the treatment of sexually abused children, byLaura Ellsworth. London: Routledge, 2007, 192 pages, £21.95 (paperback). ISBN 978-0-415-95614-7.

Laura Ellsworth is an American therapist based in Evansville, Indiana. She worked as amental health counsellor for 16 years and during this time saw many children with ahistory of sexual abuse. In an interview with the Evansville Courier Press, Ellsworthreveals that she herself was sexually abused in her childhood. She believes that people whohave worked through their own areas of pain have an insight into what clients are dealingwith.

Laura Ellsworth’s writing has the authenticity of an experienced practioners sharingher clinical expertise. The book began as a treatment intervention manual for therapistsworking with victims of sexual abuse and was expanded to reach a wider audience. It haseight chapters, references and a lengthy appendix, which includes therapeutic tools andworksheets.

‘‘Reality Therapy’’ and ‘‘Control Theory’’ were developed by the psychiatrist DrWilliam Glasser in the 1960s. This theoretical approach provides the basis for Laura

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