'Risking the kids' vs. 'double the love': Couple-counsellors in conversation on LGB parenting

Abstract

The literature on lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) affirmative psychotherapy suggests that heterosexist and homophobic discourses persist in the accounts of counsellors and therapists (Milton, Coyle & Legg, 2005) and that these may particularly cohere around the issue of same-sex parenting (Moon, 1994; Phillips, et al 2000). The current research demonstrates that this was the case in focus group discussions with counsellors working for a UK relationship therapy organisation. Many participants drew on discourses of same-sex parenting as 'risky', reproducing arguments about the 'danger' of potential prejudice that such children may face and the 'necessity' of differently gendered role models (Clarke & Kitzinger, 2005). However, these were sometimes challenged within the discussions, particularly with the offering of an alternative discourse of children of same-sex parents experiencing 'double the love'. The potential of such discussions to resist heterosexist discourses is considered as a possible direction for counsellors' on-going professional development training