Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Women's Spirituality in Feminist Multicultural Counseling

Abstract

This article discusses considerations for integrating spirituality into feminist multicultural counseling (FMC) with diverse lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women clients. First, the authors describe the historical conflict between LBQ women and conservative religions and explain how hierarchical, patriarchal assumptions and values of conservative religions may have a negative effect on well-being and empowerment. Second, the authors describe the positive influences of affirming religions and spiritualities on LBQ women's resilience within oppressive sociocultural contexts. Third, the authors explore the relevance of FMC when integrating spirituality into counseling with LBQ women. Fourth, the authors provide an overview of a model of FMC framework for integrating spirituality into FMC. Finally, we provide a client vignette example.

KEYWORDS:

• bisexual
• feminist multicultural counseling
• lesbian
• LGB
• queer
• spirituality
• women

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors wish to thank Dorothy Riddle for the seeds of the empowerment model described in this article. Whitney B. Hagen and Alexis V. Aczynski played an equal role in the writing and publication of this article. Order of authorship was determined by the toss of a coin.