ABSTRACT
This chapter details an affirmative therapy approach aimed at supporting families to raise happy, healthy, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, and gender expansive children and youth. Our approach is founded in systems theory which focuses on pattern and relational process. Queer theory is incorporated to create an expansion of possibilities beyond heteronormative gender roles and expectations inherent in traditional therapeutic response to LGBTQ developmental needs. Affirmative family therapists must take the stance that queer identities are interesting, necessary, and valuble. Three affirmative therapy elements are proposed: questioning heteronormativity, understanding the intersectional nature of oppressed social identities (race, gender, class, etc.) and finally belief and identification of the LGBTQ gifts of resilience. With the gifts of resilience identified, the therapist’s job turns to assisting the client system in claiming and integrating these unrecognized gifts to lessen the impact of domination in their day-to-day lives.
