Examining the Therapeutic Processes Associated with Conservative Christian Parents' Acceptance of their Son or Daughters' Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual Orientation

Parents with strong conservative Christian religious beliefs may view their son or daughter's Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual (LGB) orientation disclosure as a family crisis and may seek out support and direction from clergy or from a Licensed Christian Mental Health Practitioner (LCMHP) (Maslowe & Yarhouse, 2015). The counsel that the LCMHP provides, and a parent's subsequent responses to his or her disclosing son or daughter can have a substantive and enduring positive or negative impact on the youth's physical and mental health. While it is known that parents can become more accepting of their LGB oriented son or daughter, the processes by which greater acceptance occurs for conservative Christian parents is yet to be fully examined. This present study employed a phenomenological research methodology to garner a greater understanding of the conservative Christian parental acceptance phenomena that occurs within the context of a therapeutic engagement between parents and a LCMHP. Providing a greater understanding of the processes and meanings associated with this phenomenon may provide LCMHPs with information that could assist them in helping conservative Christian parents to better navigate their relationship with their LGB oriented son or daughter.