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Lesbian and Bisexual Women's Mental Health

• By Robin M. Mathy, Shelly K. Kerr

• Price: $24.95
• Binding: Paperback (also available in Hardback)
• Pages: 252
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 30th December 2004
• ISBN: 978-0-7890-2682-8

About the Book

Examine the psychosocial factors that affect lesbian and bisexual women’s mental health

This essential guide presents up-to-date, evidence-based information that can be implemented to improve mental health services for lesbian and bisexual women in a variety of settings. It examines the systemic factors that play a role in their psychological and emotional well-being, and presents new research on protective factors that play an important role when lesbian/bisexual women face depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders.

Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Mental Health reviews the past literature on mental health and sexual orientation—citing biased and inadequate assessment, diagnosis, and treatment approaches currently in use in the care of lesbian and bisexual women. This essential guide for clinicians and researchers presents new empirical research on lesbian/bisexual women’s mental health. It explores specific challenges that face various lesbian and bisexual female populations, with research on:

• dysthymia
  
• depression and anxiety—including a chapter on depressive distress among African-American women
  
• the way that community size and religiosity impact lesbian/bisexual women’s psychosexual development
  
• the relationship between shame and a client’s attachment style
  
• the mental health implications of same-sex marriage
  
• mental health in Taiwan’s T-Po lesbian community—with a focus on community members’ sexual orientation, gender roles, and gender identity
  
• the interconnectedness of sexual fantasies, psychological adjustment, and close relationship functioning in lesbian/bisexual women
  
• body image and eating issues

As the diversity of this population becomes progressively more evident, so does the necessity for deeper exploration of the mental health problems facing lesbians and bisexuals. Whether you are a student, an educator, or an experienced clinician, Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Mental Health is an essential resource for relevant and meaningful information that focuses much-needed attention on the mental health of lesbian and bisexual women.

Table of Contents

• Foreword: Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Mental Health (Beverly Greene)
  
• Introduction: The Human Ecology of Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Mental Health (Shelly K. Kerr and Robin M. Mathy)
  
• Counselor Trainees’ Assessment and Diagnosis of Lesbian Clients with Dysthymic Disorder (Shelly K. Kerr, W. Rand Walker, Dennis A. Warner, and Brian W. McNeill)
  
• Depressive Distress and Prevalence of Common Problems Among Homosexually Active African American Women in the United States (Vickie M. Mays, Susan D. Cochran, and Michelle R. Roeder)
  
• The Impact of Community Size on Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Psychosexual Development: Child Maltreatment, Suicide Attempts, and Self-Disclosure (Robin M. Mathy, Helen M. Carol, and Marc Schillace)
  
• The Impact of Religiosity on Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Psychosexual Development: Child Maltreatment, Suicide Attempts, and Self-Disclosure (Robin M. Mathy and Marc Schillace)
  
• Lesbians in Psychotherapy: Relationship of Shame and Attachment Style (G. Beverly Wells)
  
• Mental Health Implications of Same-Sex Marriage: Influences of Sexual Orientation and Relationship Status in Canada and the United States (Robin M. Mathy, Shelly K. Kerr, and Barbara A. Lehmann)
  
• A Review of Lesbian Depression and Anxiety (Shelly K. Kerr and Alice M. Emerson)
  
• The Effects of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Role on the Mental Health of Women in Taiwan’s T-Po Lesbian Community (Mei-Fun Kuang, Robin M. Mathy, Helen M. Carol, and Kazuhiko Nojima)
  
• Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Sexual Fantasies, Psychological Adjustment, and Close Relationship Functioning (Jessica Dawn Robinson and Carlton W. Parks)
  
• Lesbian Body Image and Eating Issues (Paula Wagenbach)
  
• Index
  
• Reference Notes Included