Dr. Susan Bettis, Director of Training & Clinical Services, who oversees our counseling program, offers reflections for Pride Month and beyond.
There was a time, not that many years ago, when LGBTQ people sought counseling to struggle with the secret of their sexual orientation. Sometimes it was a direct issue of wanting to find some way to be comfortable and accepting of self. Other times it was a person with AIDS whose family had cast them out. LGBTQ couples would not ask for help with their relationships or core family issues. The major progress we have made in recent years – and continue to make – around acceptance and inclusion has been welcome.
The political, legal, and societal changes are very noticeable in the younger cohort. LGBTQ staff, interns, and volunteers seem more comfortable just being who and how they are. But for some of the older members of the LGBTQ community, memories can be more toxic. Carol, age 69, came to us for counseling with the hope of “exorcising the demons” of having come of age as a lesbian in the late 1960s. Carol had grown up wanting to be a teacher. Living in a smaller western Oregon town, she went to the University of Oregon and was comfortable with its liberal approach to life. After earning her degree and returning to her hometown to teach, she experienced a different climate. When a parent of one of her students saw her coming out of a gay bar in a nearby town, Carol lost her job, along with her home, family, and church. The shame haunts her today. At some buried level of consciousness, she feels like she did something wrong.
Celebration and Remembrance
As we celebrate Pride Month and see the freedom and rights the LGBTQ community has achieved to date, we must give credit to the pioneers that had very different experiences along the way. The quiet heroes that stayed the course and made a difference. Some people had no choice but to go through the pain, hide in closets, and hope to avoid detection. Others like Ellen DeGeneres, Reverend Troy Perry, or Lily Tomlin were able to be LGBTQ trail blazers.
At William Temple House, we welcome and embrace members of the queer community. We are happy to celebrate your achievements and participate in ongoing efforts to advance inclusion. We hope to see you at the Portland Pride Festival on June 16 and 17! We will be there in full support.