Counseling the man or woman with same-sex attraction is different and distinct and requires some basic understanding and the use of certain therapeutic skills prior to beginning therapy. There are also certain techniques that are also not recommended with this population. This lecture will review the counseling essentials important to the first phase of therapy. (one hour)

This lecture will review the current scientific research and its findings and present an interactional model involving both nature and nurture that explains the complex and multidimensional development of same-sex attraction. (one and a half hours – to 2 hours)

lecture will explore the nature of gender differences and compare and contrast the common core beliefs and core issues in male versus female clients. (one to one and a half hours)

While every client is unique in their struggle and therapeutic process, common themes do emerge in terms of the typical progression of therapy and possible outcomes.

Two case studies will be used to illustrate a technique for compassionately facing, understanding and integrating loose ego-states within women with same-sex attraction.

Often women with same-sex attraction initially present with unconscious barriers and defenses that might create difficulty at the beginning of treatment. This lecture unfolds the framework for understanding the themes in a woman’s attachment systems and corresponding therapeutic attitudes that are effective for establishing trust and sustaining a therapeutic alliance.

This important lecture covers the initial therapeutic attitudes that are most effective in helping parents face the reality of their child’s homosexuality. Janelle addresses the common pitfalls that should be avoided when working with parents of gay or lesbian children. She introduces a myriad of practical exercises that can be undertaken in counseling sessions that will help parents regain a loving perspective of their child and set new goals in terms of strengthening the parent-child bond.

Janelle compassionately explains four profiles of lesbian women based on a woman’s core relational issues and common defenses.

How are young people affected by the fully found “sexual freedoms” of our postmodern culture? Being silent and sexually repressed was not healthy in past decades, but have we truly found freedom in a society that says “anything goes”?

Everything that is human is complex, mysterious and an interweave of nature (our biology) and nurture (our experiences and choices). And being human means we have many aspects to our being, including our thoughts, beliefs, emotions, bodies, sexuality, relational patterns and spirits. As Janelle unfolds the common stages of growing and developing as human beings, she will also highlight the many pieces that are sometimes “missing” or lost as we are in process of building a unique human self that may result in a vulnerability to sexual issues.

To derive a rich and meaningful understanding of maleness and femaleness, we must being with the basic truth that both are created in the image of God and are therefore equal in dignity and value. But to heal gender identity confusion or self-hatred, we must also explore the unique and special differences and nuances of a feminine versus a masculine soul. Janelle weaves Biblical story with psychological truths in a heart-felt manner as she discusses this extremely important topic.

Do you know who you are? Are you able to face your self? To look into the mirror can be a terrifying experience – especially if we can only see the false selves and masks that we have hidden under. However, to see the glory, the goodness and the uniqueness that only you can radiate to the world can sometimes be equally as terrifying. Janelle will address how we can “come home” to our own true self and to the Father who created and loves us.

While every woman with same-sex attraction is uniquely designed and completely special in God’s eyes, many develop similar strategies for survival that can be described as common profiles. Janelle compassionately explains four profiles based on a woman’s core relational issues and common defenses. Some will see themselves in one profile, others may relate to all four. Avenues for growth and wholeness are also offered.

Do you know that place in your that feels desperate for connection and attachment? Or have you felt like you have found home in your connection and closeness with another woman? Are you familiar with the panic that arises when the connection or relationship then becomes threatened? This lecture addresses the source of these drives and feelings. It also provides the steps that you can pursue to establish health friendship without dependency or enmeshment.

Because of Janelle’s extensive experience of counseling women with same-sex attraction, she is uniquely positioned to help parents as they attempt to navigate the sometimes difficult task of facing the reality that their child has same-sex attractions while still freely and authentically expressing their love to their child. This workshop will help each parent gain a broader perspective of their child’s life and offer practical communication techniques that can strengthen emotional bonds and stabilize the parent-child relationship, which is, in and of itself healing and reparative for a child’s (whether young or old) ongoing development and growth.