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A NARRATIVE ANALYSIS of GAY MALES' EXPERIENCE with CHRISTIANITY: IDENTITY, INTERSECTION, and COUNSELING CONSIDERATIONS a Disse

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A NARRATIVE ANALYSIS of GAY MALES' EXPERIENCE with CHRISTIANITY: IDENTITY, INTERSECTION, and COUNSELING CONSIDERATIONS a Disse A NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF GAY MALES’ EXPERIENCE WITH CHRISTIANITY: IDENTITY, INTERSECTION, AND COUNSELING CONSIDERATIONS A dissertation submitted to the Kent State University College of Education, Health, and Human Services in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Rob McKinney May 2018 © Copyright, 2018 by Rob McKinney All Rights Reserved ii A dissertation written by Rob McKinney A.S., John Wood Community College, 2005 B.A., Lincoln Christian College, 2008 M.Div., Lincoln Christian University, 2011 M.S., Eastern Illinois University, 2014 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2018 Approved by ________________________________, Co-director, Doctoral Dissertation Committee J. Steve Rainey ________________________________, Co-director, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Cassandra A. Storlie ________________________________, Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Alicia R. Crowe Accepted by ________________________________, Director, School of Lifespan Development and Mary M. Dellmann-Jenkins Educational Sciences ________________________________, Dean, College of Education, Health, and James C. Hannon Human Services iii MCKINNEY, ROB, Ph.D., May 2018 COUNSELOR EDUCATION AND SUPERVISION A NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF GAY MALES’ EXPERIENCE WITH CHRISTIANITY: IDENTITY, INTERSECTION, AND COUNSELING CONSIDERATIONS (270 pp.) Co-Directors of Dissertation: J. Steve Rainey, Ph.D. Cassandra A. Storlie, Ph.D. The purpose of this qualitative dissertation was to understand the narratives of gay male individuals who identify as Christian. Although some researchers have focused on conducting studies on religious topics and others on various aspects of the LGBTQ community, there remains a paucity of research that has examined the intersection of these elements for the field of counseling and their implications. Of the limited studies conducted in this combined area, most studies are conceptual in nature or based in quantitative research approaches. The rationale for this study was to capture the narratives of gay males who are Christian and discover themes through the analysis of semi-structured interviews. Therefore, the researcher sought to answer, “What are the narratives of gay males who have a Christian religious identity?” The participants were eight adult males who self-identified as gay, male, and Christian. A narrative analysis was conducted in order to gain, understand, and analyze salient narratives from participants. From this understanding gained through the participants’ narratives, better programing, support, and educational opportunities all related to the professional field of counseling can be generated for gay Christian males. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Successfully scaling this mountain called “dissertation” has been a journey unlike anything I have experienced and a process where I have done much self-reflection. This adventure allowed me to develop my own understanding of self, experience a mosaic of emotions, and establish a sense of worth that is all my own. These accomplishments would not have been possible if it were not for the many people who made this expedition possible. I would like to thank the eight wonderful individuals who agreed to be the participants of this dissertation study. I have heard people say one should never talk about sexuality or religion, and yet these are the exact topics I asked them to discuss. These eight men spoke on these topics through their personal narratives in ways that allowed me to glimpse into their lives, almost tangibly see specific moments, and share what I witnessed with the readers of this study. The amount of transparency and courage exhibited by these participants left me with a sense of awe, humility, and I cannot say thank you enough for what each of you gave. I am forever grateful to my dissertation committee. Thank you to Dr. Alicia Crowe who came alongside me most unexpectedly, assisted in my navigation of narrative analysis, and assured my methodological footing throughout this journey. I am thankful for Dr. Steve Rainey who advised me throughout my program and co-chaired my dissertation committee. I am a stronger writer than when I started this journey up the mountain because of you. I am also thankful for Dr. Cassandra Storlie who has been an advisor, a dissertation co-chair, a sounding board, a mentor, an ear to listen, and a heart that understood exactly where I was throughout this journey. Thank you for playing all iv of these roles and for reminding me how important it is when you are climbing a mountain to pause and just walk with a banana smoothie. There are others within my academic world that continually encouraged my ascent. Thank you to the staff at the Research and Evaluation Bureau who gave me the time and space to complete this work. Thank you to all of the faculty and students at John Carroll University who gave me continuous encouragement and support along the way. Thank you to faculty members at Kent State University who fostered within me the skills and abilities to complete such a feat as this dissertation. Your support and encouragement was seen. I also wish to thank Tanesha Walker who was a traveler with me during this climb, thus allowing me to have a constant friend and someone who understood my emotions in the “here and now.” Furthermore, thank you to Erin West who was the very best mountain guide, friend, and encourager throughout this entire expedition. Other relationships that have been meaningful throughout this trek includes Janet Creamer. You have sought to set me on the right path and guided my journey towards nothing but ultimate success from day one of my doctoral program. You have the largest heart and I am honored to be part of your “core.” Thank you to Tyler Leasher for enabling my dream of pursuing a doctorate degree. I also want to acknowledge Dr. Heidi Larson and Dr. Rebecca Tadlock-Marlo who took a younger version of me and prepared me for this course. Thank you, both, for seeing something in me that I did not see in myself at the time. Furthermore, to my dad, mom, and sister, thank you for being sources v of support, unconditional love, and encouragement. My “paper” is now complete and I cannot wait for each of you to read it. Finally, I could not have traversed this mountain with such skill, strength, and style had it not been for three individuals. Thank you to God for all that you have built in me that enabled me to accomplish this task. To help in this journey, he blessed me with a partner that was more understanding, patient, and kind than what I deserved at times. Nick, thank you for being there for me throughout this entire process, for reading more of this dissertation than you ever wanted to, for being someone who always listened, and for simply just being you. ’. And last, but certainly not least, thank you, Blanco. All you give is love. I promise we are going on a very, very long and deserved walk soon. The climb was all worth it! vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ...................................... 1 Justification for Autobiographical Beginning ......................................................... 4 Definition of Terms..................................................................................................6 Purpose and Rationale of the Study ........................................................................ 7 Counseling Research ....................................................................................... 8 Counseling Practice ......................................................................................... 9 Counselor Education ...................................................................................... 10 Counselor Supervision ................................................................................... 10 Counseling Service ........................................................................................ 11 Counselor Ethics ............................................................................................ 12 Research Problem ................................................................................................. 13 Review of the Literature ....................................................................................... 14 Religious Identity ........................................................................................... 14 Christianity ........................................................................................... 16 Religious developmental models ......................................................... 19 Goldman’s religious development model ......................................20 Oser’s stages of religious judgment ...............................................21 Elkind’s religious identity model ...................................................22 Mental health counseling outcomes ..................................................... 23 Gay Male Identity .......................................................................................... 24 Gay identity development .................................................................... 25 Cass’s model of homosexual identity formation ...........................25 Troiden’s model of gay identity development ...............................27
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