Roberto Baiocco, Ph.D.
Friday, January 16, 3:30pm to 4:30pm, McClelland Park RM 206
Title: Be as You Are: Clinical and Research Experiences from an Italian University Centre that Promotes the Wellbeing of LGBT People
Abstract: In Italy, sexual orientation disclosure for LGB people is still a challenging process since it may result in social rejection and objective discrimination. Indeed, it is well known that heterosexism and homonegative attitudes are firmly rooted in Italian society and its institutions. In this talk, I will start giving a general overview of the Italian context regarding LGBT issues highlighting those legal and social developments that inevitably have a profound influence on the well-being of sexual minority people. Then, I will illustrate the clinical and research experiences in the “Be as You Are” University Centre, a Counselling Service in Rome for issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity. Specifically, I will discuss our research and our clinical approach about the role of coming out from a systemic family perspective in promoting well-being for sexual minority youths. From a systemic point of view, coming out process has been defined as a “whole family experience’’ and an “interpersonal phenomenon” since it is a salient event involving all family members. The view of the family as a “system” allows us to understand and to work on the parental reactions to their children’s coming out. Understanding the coming out process and the variables related to family responses is an important aspect for the design and delivery of services aimed to promote wellbeing in sexual minority youth.
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