GEŠTALT PSIHOTERAPIJSKI RAD SA LGBTIQ POPULACIJOM
GESTALT PSYCHOTHERAPY WORK WITH THE LGBTIQ POPULATION

Summary/Abstract: Considering the concepts and theoretical frameworks of Gestalt therapy, psychotherapists of this direction should lead the way in understanding and innovation when working with issues of gender and sexual identity. Without a critical awareness of the dominant narratives that shape our understanding of gender, therapists will be limited in their work. It can be difficult for heterosexual therapists to see and understand gender dysmorphia, thereby denying the client space to express different experiences. The general pattern of expectations of LGBTIQ clients from psychotherapists includes special knowledge, attitudes and skills in which gay-affirmative attitudes take center stage, understanding the effects of homophobia, overcoming internalized homophobia, not focusing on the client's sexuality (unless he wants it), as well as knowing the appropriate terminology. Fear of violence and a deep feeling of basic insecurity mark the existence of LGBTIQ people in Serbia. It can rightly be said that violence (physical, verbal, psychological) and fear of discrimination in many ways direct the lives of LGBTIQ people here. The advantage of knowing the developmental models of LGBTIQ identity is that locating the client in one of them can make his behavior understandable and predictable, and at different stages clients may need different types of support. The answer to the question of what would be the specialty of working with LGBTIQ people is less in what the therapy formally looks like, and more in the therapist's openness to an encounter in which the devastating effect of rejection and threats from the environment is recognized.

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