The Heart of Female Same-Sex Attraction: A Comprehensive Counseling Resource

by Janelle Hallman

Publisher:

IVP

, 2008

Overview

The fruit of years of training, research and counseling experience, Janelle Hallman has drawn together a comprehensive resource for those who are interested in understanding and counseling women in conflict with same sex attraction. In this ground-breaking work, Hallman sets forth the unique dimensions of struggle that women experience through the presentation of research, interviews and clinical experience. This is an indispensable guide for understanding and a manual for counseling adult women seeking to “mature in giving and receiving love in all of [their] relationships, and no longer be restricted by destructive relational patterns.”

Key Features

• Aids mental health professionals, educators, and pastoral-care counselors who are interested in clinical perspective
• Includes principles and recommendations that can be applied across a variety of faith-based traditions as well as non-faith-based professional settings
• Provides a starting point for further dialogue, future research, and increased understanding

Contents

Part One: The Building Blocks: Understanding Their Stories

• The Women and Their Right to Choose
• The Therapist and Professional Competency
• Missing a “Home”: Attachment and Self
• Lost in Confusion: Gender Nonconformity and Socialization
• Looking for Home: Depending on You for Me

Part Two: The Work of Restoration: Leading Them Home

• Securing the Foundation: Acceptance and Attunement
• Rebuilding on a Corrective Relationship: Trust and Empathy
• Four Basic Blueprints: Understanding the Various Profiles
• Discovering Her Own Home: Opening Doors to Healthy Intimacy
• Leaving the Home of Another: Dealing with Same-Sex Attractions
• Forgotten Rooms: Transference and Countertransference
• Finding the Feminine Within
• Venturing Out: The World of Men and Closure

Top Highlights

“While we all need a sense of secure attachment throughout our lives, securely attached” (Page 101)

“Shari, one of the women I interviewed, said that coming out of lesbianism wasn’t about becoming straight: ‘My general goal was that I would no longer have romantic relationships with women. But more than that, it was about experiencing peace: peace with God and peace with myself—in my mind and in my heart. The struggle was difficult, but finally having a restful, peaceful mind was worth every minute of it.’” (Page 26)

“and after we have put these all together, how much is left over to attribute to” (Page 53)

“she does not evaluate the content of what I say as much as how I say it” (Page 36)

“‘The patient [italics added], not the analyst, decides what is ‘good’ for him or her and what he or she wishes to change, what to retain’” (Page 33)

Praise for the Print Edition

The book does fill a void in the literature as a resource for females who experience unwanted same-sex attraction.

—Mark A. Yarhouse, Religious Studies Review, March 2009

Janelle Hallman is uniquely qualified to write this book; she is gifted with empathy and high attunement to her same-sex attracted clients. Our profession has long been silent about how to proceed with clients who do not accept lesbianism as who they really are. This new work is therefore must-reading for therapists who truly respect client autonomy and diversity.

—Joseph Nicolosi, Ph.D., director, Thomas Aquinas Psychological Clinic

I love books which combine the insights of professional training with the hard-earned lessons of personal experience. You are holding such a book. Over the years, Janelle Hallman has earned widespread respect among her colleagues for her effective ministry to women seeking Christ’s freedom in the midst of their lesbian struggles. This book will be a helpful resource for all who seek deeper effectiveness in this area of ministry.

—Bob Davies, Director Emeritus, Exodus International

Product Details

• Title: The Heart of Female Same-Sex Attraction: A Comprehensive Counseling Resource
• Author: Janelle Hallman
• Publisher: IVP
• Print Publication Date: 2008
• Logos Release Date: 2020
• Pages: 311
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Lesbians › Mental health; Lesbians › Counseling of; Lesbianism › Religious aspects--Christianity; Psychotherapy
• ISBNs: 9780830878178, 9780830834297, 0830878173, 083083429X
• Resource ID: LLS:HRTFMLCNSLNRSRC
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-08-19T21:27:48Z

About Janelle Hallman

Janelle Hallman is a licensed professional counselor in Denver, Colorado, specializing in female homosexuality and emotional dependencies. She also speaks, consults, supervises, and writes extensively on the subject. She is an ordained minister and conducts conferences on sexuality, gender, redemption, and healing. She is executive director of Desert Hope Ministries and Janelle Hallman & Associates and an assistant professor at Denver Seminary.

Sample Pages from The Heart of Female Same-Sex Attraction: A Comprehensive Counseling Resource