29 Aug Course Preview – Sexual Fluidity: Research Findings and Implications for Affirmative Therapy

Description: This seminar will provide an overview of the phenomenon of sexual fluidity, which describes the capacity for individuals to experience change in their same-sex and other-sex attractions over time, often as a result of entering and exiting specific relationships, or undergoing changes in their situational contexts.  Sexual fluidity presents important challenges to previous views of sexual orientation and its expression over the life course, and individuals with fluid sexual attractions often find themselves surprised and confused by their experiences.  This seminar will present up-to-date research on the prevalence of sexual fluidity in men and women, as well as discussing the findings of qualitative research which reveals how sexual fluidity is experienced by different individuals.  We will discuss the implications of sexual fluidity for some of the mental health issues facing LGBTQ individuals (family relationships, identity development, minority stress, stigma, parenting, relationships, spirituality) and will discuss different approaches to these challenges.