Increasing Transgender Acceptance in Religious Families: A Pilot Study of Manualized Strategic Family Therapy

Abstract

ABSTRACT This pilot study explores strategies to increase transgender acceptance within religious families by applying a brief, manualized treatment approach. The research uniquely integrates Haley’s Model for Effective Family Therapy with principles of cultural humility to address the specific challenges associated with transgender identity in a conservative Baptist context. Employing a clinical case study approach, this research combines qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the implementation of manualized therapeutic strategies. The study focuses on adapting Haley’s model to enhance family dynamics and promote acceptance while respecting the family’s cultural and religious context. Quantitative data show significant improvements across both the Closeness Scale and the Brief COPE Scale. Family cohesion, overall coping, problem-focused coping, and emotional regulation strategies substantial increased. Qualitative findings further validated these improvements, highlighting enhanced family dynamics and transgender acceptance. These effects were sustained for at least three months post-intervention, indicating lasting positive impacts on family dynamics and coping. This pilot study provides novel contributions by demonstrating how Haley’s Model, adapted with cultural humility, can effectively enhance transgender acceptance within a religiously conservative family system. It underscores the value of culturally respectful and systematic approaches in therapy and highlights the need for further research to explore the long-term effects and broader applicability of these interventions in diverse contexts.