A Rollercoaster Experience: Gay Males Pursuing Couples Counseling

Abstract

We have shown that gay males access counseling more frequently than their heterosexual counterparts. Yet, there is a current dearth of literature on sexual minority relational systems. Understanding the experiences of gay male couples seeking counseling would professionally benefit counselors. Therefore, we sought to answer the question, “What are the experiences of gay males who pursue couples counseling?” We conducted an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) with 11 participants and arrived at three salient themes: A “Rollercoaster” to Find a Fit; A Valuing of Counselor Competency with Gay Male Relationships; A Desire for Being Treated Similarly and Seen as Unique. Counseling implications and further research considerations are discussed.

Keywords:

• Counseling
• counseling competency
• couples
• gay male
• IPA

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by SAIGE.