A Qualitative Exploration of Resilience in Long-Term Lesbian Couples

Abstract

Counselors continually strive to expand knowledge about relational dynamics. This article focuses on a qualitative exploration of resilience with 10 lesbian couples in relationship for 10 to 24 years. The researcher used an ethnographic and phenomenological methodology from a feminist point of view to explore resilience in two joint interviews. Couples described two thematic processes of resilience that helped thwart the effects of cultural marginalization. Relational resiliency, which served to safeguard and protect couples against stressors, consisted of the subthemes of mutuality, relational balance, and interdependence. Couple resilience, processes that facilitated couples overcoming and rebounding from adversity, included subthemes of couple unification, determination, perspective, and external buffers. These areas are discussed along with recommendations and implications for research and counseling.