Mark A. Yarhouse

Over the course of recent decades, scholars and practitioners have been working to integrate contemporary psychology-related fields and Christianity. This project continues to move forward, evidenced in associations, publications, degree programs, and conferences around the world. While much progress has been made, there are still foundational issues to be worked out and aspects of integration the community is just now venturing into. In this expert overview, psychologists William L. Hathaway and Mark A. Yarhouse take stock of the integration project to date, provide an introduction for those who wish to come on board, highlight work yet to be done, and offer a framework to strategically organize next steps. The authors' attention encompasses five domains: worldview integrationtheoretical integrationapplied integrationrole integrationpersonal integration Their comprehensive approach yields insights relevant for non-clinical areas of psychological science as well as for counseling, social work, and other related mental health fields. Done properly, integration enriches our understanding of both Christianity and psychology. Through biblical and theological grounding and numerous examples, Hathaway and Yarhouse demonstrate how synthesis can continue to serve the field and make a difference in caring for individual lives. Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.

This guidebook is designed to increase readers’ social resilience, assertiveness, and competence in responding to minority stress. Readers will understand how to embody a compassionate power in relationships when confronted by discrimination, rejection, and conflicts. We hope these ideas and skills help readers empower themselves and others to live more authentically and positively with differences. We highlight the need for community building and a safe, collaborative, and peaceful coexistence with our diverse pluralistic cultures.The LGBTQIA+ Peacemaking Book Project offers two guidebooks, Feel Secure in Yourself and Relate to Others with Confidence, published by Rowman & Littlefield, and twelve e-resources self-published by each set of chapter coauthors. Each chapter has 4-15 coauthors, with differing and sometimes politically opposing viewpoints, who contributed their ideas and skills regarding the chapter topic. Over 120 scholars, clinicians, and/or community leaders contributed to this project. Their reason for this collaboration was to find common ground, reduce prejudice, and improve LGBTQIA+ health and self-development for a wide range of readers.These resources are written for the general public and can be used by academics, clinicians, researchers, religious leaders, parents, and other providers. They are for conservatives and progressives who want to learn updated and integrated ideas and skills about sexuality, gender, race/ethnicity, faith/purpose of life, emotional health, resilience, and relationships. Overall, this book project is a social experiment of bridge-building and hope to empower readers with identity development and skill development and reduce the side-taking that impairs growth. We hope readers can resolve more conflicts personally and socially and experience more peace. Especially in these divisive times, this book project may serve as an inspiration for other projects.

This guidebook is designed to increase readers’ social resilience, assertiveness, and competence in responding to minority stress. Readers will understand how to embody a compassionate power in relationships when confronted by discrimination, rejection, and conflicts. We hope these ideas and skills help readers empower themselves and others to live more authentically and positively with differences. We highlight the need for community building and a safe, collaborative, and peaceful coexistence with our diverse pluralistic cultures.The LGBTQIA+ Peacemaking Book Project offers two guidebooks, Feel Secure in Yourself and Relate to Others with Confidence, published by Rowman & Littlefield, and twelve e-resources self-published by each set of chapter coauthors. Each chapter has 4-15 coauthors, with differing and sometimes politically opposing viewpoints, who contributed their ideas and skills regarding the chapter topic. Over 120 scholars, clinicians, and/or community leaders contributed to this project. Their reason for this collaboration was to find common ground, reduce prejudice, and improve LGBTQIA+ health and self-development for a wide range of readers.These resources are written for the general public and can be used by academics, clinicians, researchers, religious leaders, parents, and other providers. They are for conservatives and progressives who want to learn updated and integrated ideas and skills about sexuality, gender, race/ethnicity, faith/purpose of life, emotional health, resilience, and relationships. Overall, this book project is a social experiment of bridge-building and hope to empower readers with identity development and skill development and reduce the side-taking that impairs growth. We hope readers can resolve more conflicts personally and socially and experience more peace. Especially in these divisive times, this book project may serve as an inspiration for other projects.

This guidebook is designed to increase readers’ personal resilience, self-acceptance, and growth from minority stress. Readers will be encouraged to clarify their beliefs and improve their relationship with themselves. Conflicts can be resolved as readers develop knowledge of themselves and others and consider resilient ways of experiencing sexual/gender diversity. Those who want a stronger sense of themselves before making important life decisions will benefit from reading this guidebook to develop self-awareness, self-value, and self-direction. The LGBTQIA+ Peacemaking Book Project offers two guidebooks, Feel Secure in Yourself and Relate to Others with Confidence, published by Rowman & Littlefield, and twelve e-resources self-published by each set of chapter coauthors. Each chapter has 4-15 coauthors, with differing and sometimes politically opposing viewpoints, who contributed their ideas and skills regarding the chapter topic. Over 120 scholars, clinicians, and/or community leaders contributed to this project. Their reason for this collaboration was to find common ground, reduce prejudice, and improve LGBTQIA+ health and self-development for a wide range of readers.These resources are written for the general public and can be used by academics, clinicians, researchers, religious leaders, parents, and other providers. They are for conservatives and progressives who want to learn updated and integrated ideas and skills about sexuality, gender, race/ethnicity, faith/purpose of life, emotional health, resilience, and relationships. Overall, this book project is a social experiment of bridge-building and hope to empower readers with identity development and skill development and reduce the side-taking that impairs growth. We hope readers can resolve more conflicts personally and socially and experience more peace. Especially in these divisive times, this book project may serve as an inspiration for other projects.

This guidebook is designed to increase readers’ personal resilience, self-acceptance, and growth from minority stress. Readers will be encouraged to clarify their beliefs and improve their relationship with themselves. Conflicts can be resolved as readers develop knowledge of themselves and others and consider resilient ways of experiencing sexual/gender diversity. Those who want a stronger sense of themselves before making important life decisions will benefit from reading this guidebook to develop self-awareness, self-value, and self-direction. The LGBTQIA+ Peacemaking Book Project offers two guidebooks, Feel Secure in Yourself and Relate to Others with Confidence, published by Rowman & Littlefield, and twelve e-resources self-published by each set of chapter coauthors. Each chapter has 4-15 coauthors, with differing and sometimes politically opposing viewpoints, who contributed their ideas and skills regarding the chapter topic. Over 120 scholars, clinicians, and/or community leaders contributed to this project. Their reason for this collaboration was to find common ground, reduce prejudice, and improve LGBTQIA+ health and self-development for a wide range of readers.These resources are written for the general public and can be used by academics, clinicians, researchers, religious leaders, parents, and other providers. They are for conservatives and progressives who want to learn updated and integrated ideas and skills about sexuality, gender, race/ethnicity, faith/purpose of life, emotional health, resilience, and relationships. Overall, this book project is a social experiment of bridge-building and hope to empower readers with identity development and skill development and reduce the side-taking that impairs growth. We hope readers can resolve more conflicts personally and socially and experience more peace. Especially in these divisive times, this book project may serve as an inspiration for other projects.

If you are a parent wrestling with God, you are not alone. When a child comes out as LGBTQ+, Christian parents often find themselves navigating unfamiliar, unsettling terrain. Mark Yarhouse and Olya Zaporozhets, therapists and researchers with decades of experience, have written this book to provide perspective, insight, and the chance to learn from others who've shared a similar journey. Using data from studies of Christian parents of LGBTQ+ children, they deliver research-based insights and faithful wisdom that is accessible for parents, their friends, and church leaders. Yarhouse and Zaporozhets reframe the focus away from "culture war" questions that are not helpful to families in favor of practical counsel for maintaining and deepening relationships. Parents and the church leaders who care for them will benefit from understanding key developmental considerations among teenagers and emerging adults who are navigating questions around sexual and gender identity and faith. Identifying common patterns while acknowledging the uniqueness of each family, here is a book to guide parents in processing their own experiences, beliefs, and relationship with God. They will also discover techniques to reduce fear-based parenting choices and to express love, as the parent-child relationship continues to change and grow over time. Filled with stories, hard-won advice from Christian parents, and questions for reflection, When Children Come Out is an essential and hopeful resource.

Helping people navigate gender identity questions today is complex and often polarized work. For clients and families who are also informed by their faith, some mental health approaches raise more questions than answers. Clinicians need a client-centered, open-ended approach that makes room for gender exploration while respecting religious identity. Gender Identity and Faith carves out clinical space for mental health professionals to help people who wish to take seriously their gender identity, their religious identity, and the relationship between the two. Drawing from their extensive research and experience with clients, Mark Yarhouse and Julia Sadusky provide a timely, practical resource for practitioners. This book emphasizes respect for clients' journeys, without a single fixed outcome, toward congruence between their gender identity and faithdescribes effective clinical postures, assessment and therapeutic tools, and numerous case studiescovers needs and characteristics of children, youth, and adult clientsincludes worksheets and prompts for clients and family members "Integrating personhood and values is no easy feat, especially in our current cultural landscape," the authors write. Those navigating this intersection need clinicians who seek to understand their unique context and journey alongside them with empathy. This book points the way. Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.

Gain an informed perspective on Christianity and homosexuality. There are many misconceptions about Christianity and homosexuality. Christians are often perceived as being simply reactionary or behind the times. We can sometimes speak where we do not understand. We can do better. Do you have an informed and biblical view on homosexuality? In How Should We Think About Homosexuality?, Mark. A. Yarhouse brings his expertise to bear on this question. If we are to speak with clarity and conviction, we must first be informed. Christianity has long held a sexual ethic regarding creation, family, and sexuality, and Christians must know how to relate to other views of sexuality. Yarhouse considers how to think about recent scientific findings and sexual identity language before suggesting avenues of fruitful discipleship for same--sex attracted Christians. The Questions for Restless Minds series applies God's word to today's issues. Each short book faces tough questions honestly and clearly, so you can think wisely, act with conviction, and become more like Christ.

Though we often hear about the "gay problem" today, there is an even deeper problem in the church today--one that we often overlook. The call to follow Christ is a call to costly obedience for all, not just for gay Christians. Far too often, the church has elevated homosexuality above other sins and required a costly obedience from gays that it is unwilling to demand of others. And yet, the answer is not to weaken the demands of obedience. Instead, gay Christians who make the difficult choice to align their lives with the biblical view of sexuality are a gift to the church, reminding all of us that spiritual growth and maturity is costly. There is a price to pay in following Christ and devoting our lives to the call of the gospel, and it is one that we all must pay--gay and straight Christians alike.Through the stories and struggles of gay Christians who are reorienting their lives around the costly obedience required to follow Christ, Mark Yarhouse and Olya Zaporozhets call the church to reorient as well, leaving behind the casual morality that is widespread today to pursue the path of radical discipleship. Unlike any other book on homosexuality and the church, this is a call to examine your life and consider what God is asking you to lay down to take up your cross and follow him.

Christians who struggle with a conflict between their sexual and religious identities have few therapeutic options available to them. ‘Sexual orientation change efforts’ (SOCE) have rightly fallen out of favor and are no longer practiced by most clinicians. At the same time, the common approach of gay affirmative therapy (GAT) can at times present challenges and may not be a good fit when clients hold to conventional religious beliefs and values.An alternative to these methods is Sexual Identity Therapy (SIT)-an approach that aims to provide individuals with a safe therapeutic space to explore the tension between their sexuality and their faith. Working within the SIT framework, clients are able to resolve their inner conflict to their personal satisfaction and to freely choose a coherent identity that enables them to move forward in life.SIT has several stages, each designed to enable the client to make meaning out of his or her same-sex sexuality. At no point in the process is the client encouraged to choose one sexual identity over another. The ultimate goal of SIT is congruence. Congruence is achieved when a person freely adopts an identity and lives it out in ways that are in keeping with his or her beliefs and values. The SIT model is brought to life throughout the book with the help of case studies drawn from the author’s 20 years of experience.Written for both Christian and non-religious clinicians, Sexual Identity and Faith is an informed, respectful, and nuanced guide to help people navigate the difficult conflict between who they are sexually and what they believe religiously.

Students arrive on campus with various boxes of belongings to unpack, some heavy, some tidy, some more valuable, some more private. For many students, two of these boxes could be labeled "My Faith" and "My Sexuality"—and these two can be among the most cumbersome to handle. How to balance the two without having to set one down? How to hold them both closely, both securely, but still move forward to settle in with new friends in a new environment? How to keep from dropping one or the other, spilling its embarrassing contents for all to see? Such can be the struggle for any student, but especially for any sexual minority who identifies or struggles with an LGB+ identity or same-sex attraction on a Christian college campus. For these students their faith and their sexuality often feel both tender and in acute tension. Who is God making them to be? What do they need to grow in to develop faithfully, and what might they need to leave behind? How can they truly flourish? The research team of Yarhouse, Dean, Stratton, and Lastoria draw on their decades of experience both in the psychology of sexual identity and in campus counseling to bring us the results of an original longitudinal study into what sexual minorities themselves experience, hope for, and benefit from. Rich with both quantitative and qualitative data, their book gives an unprecedented opportunity to listen to sexual minorities in their own words, as well as to observe patterns and often surprising revelations about life and personal development both on campus and after graduation. Listening to Sexual Minorities will be an indispensable resource not only for counselors and psychologists but also for faculty, student-development leaders, and administrators in higher education as well as leaders in the church and wider Christian community who want to create an intentional environment to hear from and contribute to the spiritual flourishing of all. Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.

In Family Therapies, Mark A. Yarhouse and James N. Sells survey the major approaches to family therapy and treat significant psychotherapeutic issues within a Christian framework. A landmark work, this volume was written for those studying counseling, social work, psychology, or marriage and family therapy. Fully updated and revised, this second edition includes new chapters on cohabitation, LGBT+ marriage, and family formation. Other issues covered include crisis and traumamarital conflictseparation, divorce, and blended familiessubstance abuse and addictionsgender, culture, economic class, and racesexual identity Yarhouse and Sells conclude by casting a vision for an integrative Christian family therapy and offer timely wisdom for therapeutic practice in the midst of a diverse and rapidly changing global context. Family Therapies is an indispensable resource for those in the mental health professions, including counselors, psychologists, family therapists, social workers, and pastors. Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.

Modern Psychopathologies is addressed to students and mental health professionals who want to sort through contemporary secular understandings of psychopathology in relation to a Christian worldview. Written by well-known and respected scholars, this book provides an introduction to a set of disorders along with overviews of current research on etiology, treatment and prevention. Prior chapters explore the classification of disorders in historic pastoral care and contemporary mental health care. The authors explain the biological and sociocultural foundations of mental illness, and reflect on the relation between psychopathology and the Christian understanding of sin. Modern Psychopathologies is a unique and valuable resource for Christians studying psychology and counseling or providing counseling services, pastoral care, Christian healing ministries or spiritual direction. The revised second edition is fully updated according to DSM-5 and ICD-10. The authors have expanded the analysis to include problems associated with trauma, gender, addiction and more. Though fully capable of standing on its own, the book is a useful companion volume to Modern Psychotherapies by Stanton L. Jones and Richard E. Butman. Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.

Foreword Reviews' INDIEFAB Honorable Mention Few topics are more contested today than gender identity. In the fog of the culture war, complex issues like gender dysphoria are reduced to slogans and sound bites. And while the war rages over language, institutions and political allegiances, transgender individuals are the ones who end up being the casualties. Mark Yarhouse, an expert in sexual identity and therapy, challenges the church to rise above the political hostilities and listen to people's stories. In Understanding Gender Dysphoria, Yarhouse offers a Christian perspective on transgender issues that eschews simplistic answers and appreciates the psychological and theological complexity. The result is a book that engages the latest research while remaining pastorally sensitive to the experiences of each person. In the midst of a tense political climate, Yarhouse calls Christians to come alongside those on the margins and stand with them as they resolve their questions and concerns about gender identity. Understanding Gender Dysphoria is the book we need to navigate these stormy cultural waters. Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.

The field of human sexuality is one of ever-increasing complexity, particularly for Christian therapists and psychologists seeking to be faithful to Scripture, informed by science and sensitive to culture. In Sexuality and Sex Therapy, Mark Yarhouse and Erica Tan offer a survey and appraisal of this field from a Christian perspective, which grounds sex therapy in the biblical affirmation of physicality and the redemptive purposes of human life. Integrating the latest research within a Christian worldview, the authors explore sexual dysfunctions as well as various clinical issues and treatments. Not only have Yarhouse and Tan written a standard resource for Christian therapists and counselors, but they also challenge the church to talk more honestly and openly about the blessing of human sexuality. Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.

Today’s youth struggle with difficult questions of sexual identity. How can a youth worker offer wise care and counsel on such a controversial and confusing subject? Mark Yarhouse, director of the Institute for the Study of Sexual Identity, equips youth ministers so they can faithfully navigate the topic of sexual identity in a way that is honest, compassionate, and accessible. Reframing the focus away from the culture wars, Yarhouse introduces readers to the developmental considerations in the formation of sexual identity—all of which occurs in the teen years. He offers practical and helpful ways to think about homosexuality along with suggestions for talking with people who experience same-sex attraction. He also helps parents and youth volunteers learn to graciously respond to children and teens who struggle with questions of sexual identity, and discusses how youth ministry can become more relevant in the lives of youth who are navigating these issues.

Most therapeutic approaches, especially those of a cognitive orientation, are not very effective in dealing with high conflict relationships--couples often heading toward divorce by the time they seek help. Counseling Couples in Conflict is a resource for pastors and counselors who want to be ready for these uniquely difficult cases. Utilizing a relational conflict and restoration model Mark Yarhouse and James Sells point the way beyond the cycle of pain towards marital healing. Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.