An investigation of gay male psychotherapists and the making of meaning at the intersection of identity

Abstract

Primary objective: This study’s primary objective was to investigate the lived experiences of gay male psychotherapists with a particular focus on the intersection of their gay and therapist identities. This qualitative study endeavoured to investigate how gay therapists experience these dual identities by exploring the private narratives of an under-represented group within the psychological community. Research design: The research design used a narrative approach focused on generating a life-storied perspective of a sample of practicing gay therapists (n = 6) to discover how they narrate their lives. Methods and procedures: Self-identified gay male psychotherapists with at least three years of clinical experience were asked to voluntarily participate in semi-structured interviews. Transcribed data was analysed using narrative analysis with particular attention paid to reflexivity. Main outcomes and results: This research illustrated how the intersection of identities ran through the lived narratives of this sample in terms of meaning making and understanding their professional and personal lives. Themes emerged around how deeply the journey of these identities intertwined, positions of power and powerlessness inhabited by gay therapists, the complexity of therapist self-disclosure and working in the transference for this sample and, finally, the importance of gay research in understanding the dual aspects of intersecting identities.