Helping Christian Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients Recover Religion as a Source of Strength: Developing a Model for Assessment and Integration of Religious Identity in Counseling.

Spirituality, including its expression in religious identity, has been increasingly recognized as a vital source of strength in coping that can be integrated in the counseling process to affect positive outcomes. However, lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients frequently experience conflicts between their religious and sexual orientation identities that complicate or prevent their access to religion as a source of support. Complicating matters, counselors may feel ill equipped to address religious concerns in counseling settings that are not faith based. The Goals, Renewal, Action, Connection, and Empowerment (GRACE) model is offered as a means to assess and integrate religious identity with lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients in the counseling process. A composite hypothetical case illustrates the application of the model with a client. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)