Counselling Ideologies

Queer Challenges to Heteronormativity

Counselling Ideologies draws our attention to the dilemmas inherent within the therapeutic ideologies commonly subscribed to by psychotherapists and counsellors working with those who challenge heteronormative models and approaches. Identifying the modernist, heteronormative understandings of the world implicit in the more popular models, this book employs queer theory to challenge these ideologies, drawing on disciplines both within and outside of counselling and psychology, as well as sociology, cultural studies and various ethnographic accounts. It highlights the dilemmas faced by those who may wish to practise as 'queer therapists', addressing not only therapeutic dilemmas, but also issues such as: identity, race, coming-out experiences, 'internalised homophobia', 'empathy', 'ethical issues', bisexuality and pathologisation. Comprising contributions from both academic experts and practitioners from the UK, USA and Australia, this book represents a new approach to counselling and psychotherapy that will appeal not only to sociologists and those working in the field of mental health, but also to scholars of race and ethnicity, gender, queer studies and queer theory.