Faith Family and Navigating LGBTQ Identities
Family Coaching
When someone comes out as gay or transgender, it can be one of hardest concepts to understand and come to terms with. The family experiences a “shock” like reaction to this kind of news. Many emotions can come up and many more questions surface as we try and wrap out minds around hearing this from someone. Strong and very powerful emotions arise and anger, sadness and confusion all create an ungrounded feeling. Many times, families struggle make sense of this and have a difficult time seeing a path forward. In more extreme situations, the family breaks and can fall apart. The worst-case scenario is when the individual is ostracized and then kicked out of the family system. Rejection like this can lead to significant mental health issues, and can cause someone to consider taking their own life.
This coaching approach is designed to help families navigate these emotions, process the feelings that come up and to help develop measured responses, find balance and perspective using common sense based in scripture and in our faith. We discuss the latest and most up to date research and information around lgbq+ identities and identify resources designed for support. We strive to find ways to assist families in staying together and finding support from within the family system, within their faith community and other community resources. Our goal is to help families find acceptance and healing.