Theoretical Paper Sexuality: Where existential thought and counselling psychology practice come together

Abstract

Content & Focus: Counselling psychology takes a contextualised perspective to people, and so this paper outlines some of the issues that impact on popular understandings of sexuality, in everyday terms and also in terms of psychological impact. The terrain of sexuality is very broad, so this paper uses same-sex sexuality, and our assumptions about it, as its predominant focus. The second half of the paper considers the way in which existential phenomenological perspectives can enhance our understandings of sexuality and provide counselling psychologists with useful insights.Conclusion: The frameworks of both existential psychology and counselling psychology overlap and, when considered together, offer useful ways of understanding social and therapeutic issues.