Systemic therapy and LGBTQIA+ population

Although approximately forty years have passed since the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed homosexuality from the DSM, and despite the fact that the LGBTQIA+ population is now more appropriately received within clinical settings, there remains a clear need to expand clinicians’ competencies, language, and ongoing training. Over the past decade, various Italian institutions that adopt a systemic-relational approach have begun to reflect on the necessity of specific training, given the increasing number of requests from same-sex parent families, couples including LGBTQIA+ individuals, and families and individuals navigating the coming-out phase and other stages of the life cycle. The concepts of family and couplehood have undergone profound transformations, reflecting an increasingly complex social and emotional reality. These changes inspire who study family systems to further explore and, above all, update their understanding of new family and couple configurations and the emerging relational dynamics. Recent studies emphasize that key protective factors for the psychological well-being of LGBTQIA+ individuals include family support and social acceptance. Therefore, the intervention of the systemic therapist appears both necessary and essential in promoting the mental health of individuals within the community and the systems to which they belong.

Keywords: LGBTQIA+ population, minority stress, coming-out, new families, Queer family, homoparental family.

Federica Seravelli, Cecilia Caravaggi, Maria Luisa Iervolino, Terapia sistemica e popolazione LGBTQIA+ in "RIVISTA DI PSICOTERAPIA RELAZIONALE " 62/2025, pp 121-128, DOI: 10.3280/PR2025-062016