Sex and Relationship Issues in Work With the LGBTQ Community.

Working with LGBTQ people regarding sex and relationship problems may be intimidating for the psychiatrist with little experience. This article provides an overview of common sex and relationship problems that can be encountered in clinical work with a focus on LGBTQ couples therapy. Topics include sex difficulties and their causes, drugs and alcohol, the effect of "the closet," discordant "outness" in couples, issues regarding sex roles, LGBTQ parenting, and issues arising when a member of a couple is transitioning.

Intervenções Preventivas com Casais: O que Podemos Aprender com a Experiência Internacional? / Preventive Interventions with Couples: What Can we Learn from the International Experience?

Resumo A dissolução da unidade conjugal é um desafio familiar e para os diversos sistemas sociais a esta relacionados. O objetivo deste artigo é revisar a literatura sobre programas preventivos com casais, visando a identificar os formatos de sucesso, as lacunas existentes no que é oferecido no Brasil e o que podemos aprender com a experiência internacional. Os dados são apresentados e discutidos privilegiando os estudos que se mostraram teórica e empiricamente relevantes para o desenvolvimento de um programa adaptado à realidade brasileira. Os estudos encontrados apontam para a eficácia das intervenções preventivas na promoção de habilidades relacionadas à resiliência conjugal. Entretanto, os mecanismos de mudança implicados nesse processo e sua repercussão na qualidade conjugal ainda não foram esclarecidos.

Abstract The dissolution of a marital unit challenges not only the family but also a great range of social systems related to it. The article aimed to review the literature on preventive programs with couples, willing to identify the elements of success, the gaps in the interventions offered in Brazil, and summarize what we should learn from the international experience. Data will be presented and discussed, highlighting the studies found to be theoretically and empirically relevant to the development of a program targeting the prevention of crisis and the promotion of marital resilience adapted to the Brazilian reality. Results point to the efficacy of preventive interventions in promoting relational skills associated with marital resilience. However, the mechanisms of change implicated in this process, as well as its impact on marital quality, are still to be further clarified.

Sexual Knowledge and Attitude among Girls Who are Getting Married Based on the Information from Yas Pre-marriage Counseling Center.

BACKGROUND: High prevalence of sexual dysfunction results from inadequate knowledge or inappropriate attitude toward the natural phenomenon of sexual desire. This study aimed to define sexual knowledge and attitude among girls who were getting married and referred to Yas pre-marriage counseling center. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This research was a descriptive analytical study. The information of 165 girls, who were about to get married, were collected through convenient sampling using a researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 software. Inferential statistical method and Pearson correlation were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Results showed that the mean scores of sexual knowledge and attitude among the participants were 57.42 and 69.02, respectively. There was a significant association between the mean scores of sexual knowledge and sexual attitude (P < 0.001, r = 0.63). CONCLUSIONS: Results showed that the participants had relatively appropriate knowledge and attitude toward sexual relationship.

A infidelidade no relacionamento amoroso: possibilidades no trabalho clínico com casais / Infidelity in romantic relationships: opportunities in couples' clinical work

Embora o que se entenda como infidelidade varie de acordo com o contexto sociocultural e o contrato estabelecido por cada casal, seu impacto na relação costuma ser significativo e desafiador. Neste artigo, serão abordadas possibilidades de intervenção junto a casais que buscam terapia em virtude da infidelidade conjugal. É importante considerar a infidelidade como um fenômeno complexo, relacionado a questões intrapsíquicas, relacionais, situacionais e socioculturais. O terapeuta deve abordar (a) o impacto inicial da descoberta da infidelidade; (b) a história da relação, de forma a contextualizar o acontecido; e (c) o seu futuro. Nesse processo, mostram-se úteis tanto sessões individuais como conjugais. O entendimento da infidelidade requer um olhar sistêmico, que consiga abranger a história do casal e da família, suas crenças e seus padrões relacionais. O terapeuta precisa ser capaz de criar um ambiente de compreensão mútua que possibilite as mudanças desejadas pelos cônjuges.(AU)

Although its meaning may differ according to specific socio-cultural contexts and to the established contract, infidelity always causes stress on couples' relationships and is very challenging to deal with. This article addresses possibilities of intervention when dealing with couples who seek therapy due to infidelity. It must be considered as a complex phenomenon, associated to intrapsychic, relational, situational and socio-cultural issues. Therapists must address: (a) the initial impact of the of infidelity revelation; (b) the history of the relationship, in order to contextualize what happened; and (c) what can be expected for the relationship's future. In this process, both individual and couples sessions are useful. Understanding infidelity requires a systemic approach, which should consider the history of the couple and of their family; their beliefs and their relational patterns. Therapists should be able to create an environment of mutual understanding thus contributing to the changes desired by the spouses.(AU)

Reflections on the Historiography of American Eugenics: Trends, Fractures, Tensions.

By the 1950s, eugenics had lost its scientific status; it now belonged to the context rather than to the content of science. Interest in the subject was also at low ebb. But that situation would soon change dramatically. Indeed, in an essay-review published in 1993, Philip Pauly commented that a "eugenics industry" had come to rival the "Darwin industry" in importance, although the former seemed less integrated than the latter. Since then, the pace of publication on eugenics, including American eugenics, has only accelerated, while the field has become even more fractured, moving in multiple and even contradictory directions. This essay explores the trajectory of work on the history of American eugenics since interest in the subject revived in the 1960s, noting trends and also fractures. The latter are seen to result partly from the fact that professional historians no longer own the subject, which has attracted the interest of scholars in several other disciplines as well as scientists, political activists, and journalists, and also from the fact that the history of eugenics has almost always been policy-oriented. Historians' desire to be policy-relevant and at the same time attentive to context, complexity, and contingency has generated tensions at several levels: within individuals, among historians, and between professional historians and others who also engage with the history of eugenics. That these tensions are resolved differently by different authors and even by the same authors at different times helps explain why the fragmentation that Pauly noted is not likely to be overcome anytime soon.

A percepção da parentalidade de cônjuges engajados em casamentos de longa duração / The perception of parenting couples engaged in long-term marriages / La percepción de la relación parental de conyugues en casamientos de larga duración

Tendo em vista o debate cada vez mais contemporâneo acerca das relações entre parentalidade e conjugalidade, o objetivo deste estudo foi compreender a percepção da parentalidade de cônjuges engajados em casamentos de longa duração. Foram entrevistados 25 casais unidos, em média, havia 39,5 anos, com média de idade de 64,1 anos e com três a quatro filhos. A partir de entrevistas audiogravadas e submetidas à análise de conteúdo, os resultados destacaram a parentalidade como sinônimo de apoio, responsabilidade e aprendizado para o casal, como forma de oferecer bom exemplo para os descendentes e também como atributo a ser admirado no parceiro. Conclui-se que a parentalidade é percebida como uma exigência no processo de desenvolvimento dos casais longevos. A conjugalidade de longa duração repousa sobre alguns valores tradicionais, como a criação dos filhos com pouca experimentação de novos papéis e de possibilidades de releituras acerca do que é ser família.

Given the increasingly contemporary debate about the relationship between parenthood and conjugality, this study aimed to understand the perception that spouses engaged in long-term marriages have about parenthood. A total of 25 couples were interviewed; they had been married for 39.5 years and were aged 64.1 years old on average, and had three to four children. Audio-recorded interviews with the parents were subjected to content analysis and results highlighted parenthood as synonymous with support, responsibility and learning for the couple, a way to be a good example for descendants, as well as an admirable attribute in a partner. It is concluded that parenthood is perceived as a requirement in the development process of couples engaged in long-term relationships. Long-term marriages rest on some traditional values, like the raising of children, with little experimentation of new parental roles and possibility to reinterpret what it means to be a family.

Teniendo en vista un debate cada vez más contemporáneo, con respecto a la relación entre parentalidad y conyugalidad, el objetivo de este estudio fue comprender la percepción sobre parentalidad de conyugues comprometidos en casamientos de larga duración. Fueron entrevistadas 25 parejas unidas en media a 39,5 años, con media de edad de 64,1 años teniendo entre tres a cuatro hijos. A partir de entrevistas audio gravadas y sometidas a análisis de contenido, los resultados destacaron la parentalidad como sinónimo de apoyo, responsabilidad y aprendizaje para la pareja, a fin de ofrecer un buen ejemplo para los descendientes, pero también, como atributo a ser admirado en su cónyuge. Se concluye que la parentalidad es percibida como una exigencia en el proceso de desenvolvimiento de casamientos longevos. La conyugalidad de larga duración reposa sobre algunos valores tradicionales, como la creación de los hijos con poca experimentación de nuevos papeles y de posibilidades de relecturas acerca de lo que es ser familia.

Empirical application of empathy enhancing program based on movement concept for married couples in conflict.

In the field of marital therapy, it is known that couple movement program helps married couples faced with conflict situation to rebuild the relationship and to maintain a family homeostasis. The purpose of this study was to configure and apply the kinesthetic empathy program and to assess the effectiveness for married couples in conflict. To achieve the research aims, qualitative research method has been conducted, subjecting three couples, 6 people, who are participating in expressive movement program for this study. The study used focus group interview method for collecting date and employed for the interview method by mixing the semi-structured and unstructured questionnaire. The results were followings. First, through kinesthetic empathy enhancing program, one could develop self-awareness and emotional attunement. Second, the result showed the relationship between intention and empathy. It shows that "knowing spouse's hidden intention" is significant factors to understand others. Third, kinesthetic empathy program could complement general marriage counseling program. The results of this study provide empirical evidence that movement program functions as an empathy enhancer through the process of perceiving, feeling, thinking, and interacting with others.

Innovative approaches to promoting cervical health and raising cervical cancer awareness by use of existing cultural structures in resource-limited countries: experiences with traditional marriage counseling in Zambia.

The Cervical Cancer Prevention Program in Zambia (CCPPZ) has increasingly used community-level structures to increase the uptake and ensure the sustainability of the program. Traditional marriage counselors, the alangizi, who have existed in the Zambian society for many years, are one of the structures used by the program to impart cervical cancer knowledge and increase access to screening and care using an existing community structure. Several steps were followed in developing this intervention: (a) ensuring the alangizi understood the process of screening by encouraging them to go through the screening process; (b) workshops were arranged for the alangizi to meet and share experiences during which lessons were given on cervical cancer by health workers as well; and (c) eight alangizi were chosen to help document the lessons as part of ensuring that cervical cancer information is accurate and passed in a consistent manner. Over 70 alangizi, who had undergone cervical cancer screening, were trained by CCPPZ. A 'Cervical Cancer Training Manual for Marriage Counsellors' was developed to help the alangizi integrate cervical cancer lessons in their routine teachings. An evaluation was conducted during the training of the alangizi that forms the basis for this paper. The results show that although the alangizi face key challenges in their work (e.g. changing social contexts), they are still considered relevant by most communities in Zambia and are potentially an important avenue for cervical cancer and other health information. This paper shows that it is possible to integrate sexual and reproductive health messages into existing structures in the community. However, it is important to design culturally specific and sensitive healthcare strategies that embrace locally accepted good practices.