ABSTRACT
A t midlife, individuals begin to ask themselves who they are, how they want to spend the second half of their lives, whether they are content with what they have accomplished, and if they want to make changes in the time they have left. For those who do not have a history of being oppressed because of sexual identity, these questions are often answered without the burden of shame or discrimination. For them, looking back is not a look at the struggle oftentimes accompanying coming out as lesbian or gay and the challenges it may have presented; looking forward is not encumbered with the possibility of coming out now in midlife with the losses that may follow or with the concern of furthering a career without fear of being outed in the workplace as a result of greater visibility. Being lesbian and gay at midlife, therefore, engenders a variety of concerns and joys that therapeutically need to be understood in order to facilitate the establishment of healthy identity.
