Therapy from the Fence

Abstract

ABSTRACT Bisexuality is virtually invisible in therapy literature. Little has been written on what factors influence choice of therapeutic approach. The perceptions of therapists who self-identify as bisexual, and their approach to therapy, are explored in a reflexive phenomenological study informed by queer and feminist methods. The design was non-dichot-omous in an effort to explore data that disappears in comparative enquiry. Nine co-researchers participated in telephone interviews, contributed to both structure and content, and reviewed analysis. The findings provide an authentic description of their experience across six experiential levels: still centre; intra personal; inter personal; community; culture; world-view. They reveal dynamic inter-relationships between ‘Bisexual Identity and Experience,’ ‘Therapy and Mental Health,’ and ‘Being and Becoming a Therapist.’ Transferability is evident in the resonance findings have for their readership. The findings concur with sparse literature on integrative and queer approaches to mental health inequalities and therapy, bisexual identities, and multi-dimensional models of mutable sexuality. They have implications for the absence of sexuality and queer identities in therapy training, and for sensitivity to cultural diversity in therapy practice.