Issues in therapy with gay and lesbian couples

Gay and lesbian couples differ from heterosexual couples in ways that may have implications for therapy. Until recently, research in homosexuality dealt only with "curing" it. Since the 1980s, however, psychotherapy with gay and lesbian couples has received more attention. The literature in this area is seldom criticized or questioned; thus, much of the most recent research in the area is founded on assumptions about gay and lesbian couples that have never been tested empirically. This article critically reviews the literature concerning differences among gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples and presents the therapeutic implications of these differences.