Abstract
In Queering psychotherapy, Jane C. Czyzselska presents a powerful series of conversations that challenge the normative structures and assumptions that govern modern psychotherapy. Through discussions with leading psychotherapy experts, Czyzselska strives to expand the written knowledge base about effectively serving LGBTIQ+ clients in therapy, placing an intentional emphasis on capturing an intersectional perspective that centers race and class alongside gender and sexuality.
The book is written in a captivating style, composed of conversations between the editor and scholars and psychotherapists who hold a range of racial, sexual, and gender identities. The rich integration of critical race and feminist/womanist theories alongside psychotherapy practice theories makes the book a compelling read for those who are interested in how critical theories can be used to inform clinical practice.
While the book is an important addition to the extant body of literature about meeting the mental health needs of LGBTIQ+ individuals in psychotherapy, I note two important caveats in my recommendation of the book. The first is that the book may be somewhat inaccessible to individuals who do not have a firm foundation in critical theories, modern and historical theories of psychotherapy, and social justice advocacy discourse, particularly feminist/womanist and civil rights discourse. For instance, the conversation with Dr. Gail Lewis provides a powerful discussion of queering the Black feminist psychoanalytic. A core element of the discussion focuses on the relationship between Kleinian Psychoanalytic Theory and the writings of Audre Lorde. Though efforts are certainly made to familiarize the reader with core ideas advanced by both Klein and Lorde, a reader without familiarity with the works of both thinkers would likely miss important nuances in the conversation. A second caveat is that while this book makes claims that can be incorporated into psychotherapy, the primary focus of the book does not appear to be on directly and explicitly guiding psychotherapy practice. It will be critical that additional translational scholarship occurs to support psychotherapists in understanding and applying concrete practice behaviors that capture core concepts of the text. Relatedly, it will be essential to evaluate empirically the impact of the application of these concepts on clients’ experiences and outcomes of psychotherapy.
As a social work scholar and practitioner of psychotherapy, I found myself particularly drawn to moments in the book where the discussants challenge widely held conventional beliefs about serving LGBTIQ+ clients and consider what constitutes healing for these clients. For instance, Ellis J. Johnson states that “Authenticity, or expressing the authentic or true self, is assumed to be both an aim of transition and the goal of therapy… I think the ideal of reaching ‘the authentic self’ is damaging to the trans community” (p. 25). As another illustration, in a conversation with Robert Downes about Queer Shame, Czyzselska states that, “It's interesting that in the LGBTIQ+ community globally that's been the direction or the aspiration: to move away from the shame towards pride rather than tending to the shame. And maybe the hope has been that the opposite of shame is pride, but maybe love is the opposite of shame” (p. 56). The subsequent discussions pertaining to both of these disruptive assertions suggest the importance of complicating notions of “the authentic self” and “pride” and creating space for the celebration of fluidity and incremental progress. These are incredibly powerful ideas for psychotherapists serving members of the LGBTIQ+ community, and I eagerly await an expansion of scholarship that articulates the more tangible aspects of how to apply these concepts in psychotherapy practice.
Another core aspect of this text that makes it of particular relevance to social work scholars and practitioners is its acknowledgment of the structural determinants of mental health that impact the well-being of transgender and non-binary people. As scholars and practitioners committed to multi-level practice, social workers must consider not just how to serve the individual client sitting in our therapy offices but also how to combat the social structures that are contributing to that client's distress. Such detrimental structures are acknowledged in Kris Black's assertion that “Worldwide, I think young trans people's lives are being made harder by transphobia… They are being made homeless by their own families, struggling within the context of education and are now under attack by attempts to change legislation that affords rights” (p. 177). Ultimately, the conversations between Czyzselska, Black, and Moon reinforce the importance of multi-level interventions, highlighting opportunities for structural actions, such as promoting inclusive curriculum for psychotherapists and other types of social workers, fostering trans-led organizations, and resisting anti-transgender policy and rhetoric. In sum, serving LGBTIQ+ clients cannot be done exclusively at the individual level; queering psychotherapy requires advocacy from psychotherapists and other types of social workers at the institutional and structural levels, including advocacy to reform the very institutions that educate and employ us.
Ultimately Queering psychotherapy is a compelling text that problematizes some of the core assumptions underlying psychotherapy practice with members of the LGBTIQ+ community. The text is extraordinarily thoughtful in its multi-level and intersectional approaches, intensively engaging with critical race, feminist/womanist, and queer theories. The book is also unique in its extensive representation of the perspectives of individuals holding minoritized racial and gender identities. I eagerly await an expansion of the core concepts of this text, which will more directly and explicitly guide psychotherapists’ applications of these concepts with their LGBTIQ+ clients.
