Social Work with Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals: A Strengths Perspective

Social Work with Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals: A Strengths Perspective should be required reading for everyone who works with people. It is definitely a text which should be under consideration for anyone wishing to enter the social work field. Katherine Van Wormer presents us with a solid foundation for the study of gay and lesbian lives. Her experiences with her daughter, and her experience with the sometimes accepting Lutheran Church, provided her with a necessary experience to tackle this subject with sensitivity and understanding.Apart from providing a glossary for heterosexuals at the end of the book and a comprehensive list of usable resources, the most notable feature of this introduction to gay and lesbian studies is the use of asides which are strategically placed throughout the book. In each chapter, boxes can be found that highlight interesting facts, exercises, speeches, and testimony by gay and lesbian people as well as their supporters.Unfortunately, the text is only an introduction. The students, teachers, and professionals who study this volume will get a good grasp of the complexity of this population. They will also come away from the volume realizing that there is indeed much more to study. More than that, they will come to know that they will also be learning more about themselves as they continue to investigate what they first conceived to be a group of people completely foreign to them.This is definitely one of the better books to come along in recent years.

This thoughtful, abundantly documented book intended for social workers and other helping professionals presents a massive amount of material about the gay, lesbian, and bisexual experience that will be useful to all who wish to learn more, such as family members newly aware of a loved one's sexual orientation. The authors put responsibility for the pain of being gay or lesbian in our society squarely on the shoulders of the dominant culture, while at the same time they acknowledge the subtleties of various subgroups' response to sexual minorities. Among the many riches of this volume are a consistent emphasis on the strengths of gay and lesbian culture--"the joy and bonding and hilarity, the insider jokes, and the pride"--references to much illuminating research, a discussion of homophobia and violence against gays and lesbians on a global level, and a multilayered analysis of portrayals of gays and lesbians on television. The book is studded with the authentic voices of individuals: a straight social work student, a clergyman who stands up to bigotry, one author's experience coming to terms with her lesbian daughter's sexual choices. In its wealth of information, the broad spectrum of opinions offered, and the solid evidence of homework well done, the book succeeds in its aim of inviting an alliance between the social work profession and the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community.

This book, although written as a text for students in social work, is an up-to-date text for anyone interested in this subject. It is concise, informative, and easy to read, written in easily understood layman's vocabulary. Technical terms are defined, and an excellent glossary occurs at the end. Resources and references are included. The book begins with a historical background of sexuality, controversies in the origin of sexuality and civilization's attitudes of sexuality. It deals with the aspects of adaptation of LGB (Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals) to our heterosexual environment, its strengths and weaknesses. Further chapters deal with differences and similarities in LGB sexuality, aspects of LGB in the workplace (employment issues), social and psychological adjustments and issues of marriages, children, and aging. The final chapters deal with counseling and social work related issues of the LGB communities. The authors, all professors at the University of Northern Iowa, are knowledgeable and experienced. They have brought their expertise and collaboration to bear and have produced a lucid, concise, and easily readable volume that covers a multitude of heretofore obscure, often prejudicial material. I highly recommend this excellent work to all who seek information and insight into the subject.