Should Being Gay and Lesbian be Considered a Demographic?

Today the world is changing, as well as society. The topic of gays, lesbian, and bisexual is becoming more of the norm. The question that is being asked is: Should being gay or lesbian be considered a demographic? As a therapist, I will have to be dealing with these issues, for it is a VERY hot topic at the moment. At the NCFR Conference, it was discussed in a couple of sessions that I attended. There were many in the room who believed that it should be considered a demographic, and we should support those who are gay and lesbian and if I do feel otherwise, it is something that I must put my religion, my beliefs aside for, and ignore those values because it goes "against the code of ethics."  Does that mean I must check my religion at the door and ignore the beliefs that I have? As a therapist, how do I approach that situation of a same sex couple that comes to me with respect, but still have my beliefs? Can I still have my beliefs? There are many in this field who answer "no." One even asked the question, "Why are we still discussing this? Its and issue that should already be decided?" Why? Because it is still an issue and will continue to be an issue. This all goes back to the question..should it become a demographic? Should the term "gay" and "lesbian" become a statistical characteristic of a population? If so, how can I work with these couples respectively but be able to still have my beliefs? I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. I want to protect that, and I want to protect the meaning of families. So the question still stands: Should being gay or lesbian be considered a demographic?

baby boom

Marital satisfaction is very important in a marriage. When you are in your first year of marriage, obviously it is going to be very high. However it starts to lower when you have your first child. As a matter of fact, most marriages fail around 2 to 5 years. How can you keep your marriage from failing at this stage of it? One thing we talked about was dating. It is super important that you keep dating even during the pregnancy. Husbands can also become uninvolved in the pregnancy and feel left out. This could cause boundaries between the husband and the wife, but if the couple proceeds to date and spend that time with each other, boundaries will surround husband, wife, and child. During the birth is also a very critical time. That moment is a huge bonding moment for husband and wife.The more that he is involved with the baby, the better. It really opened my eyes to how I want things when I someday have children.

What to expect in each stage of a relationship

I loved this week!!!! First we talked about the expectations of a relationship. There are four stages which include dating, courtship, engagement, and of course marriage! While dating, you are still practicing for marriage. When a guy takes a girl out on a date, he is practicing providing, presiding, and protecting for his family. Next, we move on to courtship. This is the stage where you start dating somebody as a potential to marry them. What interested me the most was when we talked about the engagement and how important with how the man proposes is. Did he put thought into it? Most importantly though, did he ask the father? This shows so much respect towards her family and it really says a lot about him by the way that he proposes.

This week, we talked about The family systems theory which I found very fascinating. This theory suggests that the family is analyzed as a whole and not the individual. To teach this concept, we did a role play. It was so interesting to see how as a therapist, we can change the behavior of a family and change the function as well. We also talked about the "unspoken rules" of a family. For example, in my family, an unspoken rule is that you never talk back to mom, or you will get it from dad, They are the rules that are not "written on the fridge" but every member of the family knows the rule almost unconsciously. What also interested me was the boundaries between family members and different subsets. We learned how to map our families according to the boundaries made. It was amazing to be able to see my family and map out the subsets. There are 4 girls in my family, so one subset would be me and my sister closest to me in age, and the other subset would be around my other 2 sisters. However, those subsets have changed as well. All 3 of my sisters are married, so a subset can form separating me because I am the only one not married. It is fascinating to understand the role of each family and how each is different.