Lesbians and Gay Men Over 60. Where are they? Part 8
CONCLUSION
Implications for our practice
What can we, as helping professionals, do? To begin with, we must focus on the gay population in general. We must counter homophobia and be sensitive to the effects it has had on gay men and lesbians. For example, gays may have internalized the same homophobia, and thus, may be self-punitive because of it. Any practician with a homophobic attitude will behave in a way that is counter-productive and counter-therapeutic. These practicians will not be effective in working with their gay/lesbian clientele.
Next we should consider that the quality of care we give can be enhanced by having open communication with our lesbian or gay client. Without this, clients are naturally going to be hesitant to relate all information, perhaps hindering their access to appropriate help.
Advocacy is another service we can give to our gay/lesbian clients. An example of this would be supporting clients’ right to have a lover/partner visit in the hospital, even if their relationship makes some of the hospital staff uncomfortable. Advocacy could also entail supporting a client’s wish to have a partner/lover, rather than a family member, make crucial medical decisions. The key element to consider in advocating for your client is self-determination, that is, freewill. It is not up to us to make judgments about when it is best that someone’s sexuality be discussed, even if we think it would be helpful to the person, for example in the case of health care. Another way we can help is to be educators. We can reduce many health problems by providing programs that are aimed at being non-judgmental and promoting the concept that self-knowledge is important. For example, we should point out to lesbians who avoid routine pelvic examinations and pap tests, that this avoidance is not in their best interests since it is not only heterosexual women who need to be concerned about cervical cancer. Practicians can also act as educators for their co-workers or other professionals, sharing what we have learned or experienced through working with gays. We might also encourage exploration of literature in this area.
Schools can and should play a better role in education. Birth control and sexually transmitted disease prevention are taught, but issues associated with the gay/lesbian communities are ignored, especially in relation to the elderly communities. This needs to be corrected.
Service development is yet another area we can focus on. Health centers for lesbians and gay men that would compensate for the inadequacy of the usual health arena would be one area for development; or we could advocate the realignment of existing systems to give better care to the population. Older gays also need places for recreation. This segment of the population is not yet considered in the planning of new or existing resources.
We must recognize the aging concerns of the gay population. We have discussed them through this paper: isolation, self-imposed secrecy and vulnerability. The legal issues of wills, curatorship, visitation rights, family conflicts and so on must be incorporated into our existing services.
Bereavement counseling does not exist in the gay community, except in some AIDS organizations. Some of the issues a gay person encounters at this time include reactions of health care professionals and funeral directors, and those of the bereaved’s nuclear family or employer. These may worsen an already difficult time.
The elderly gay people we will be in contact with have experienced severe oppression throughout their lives. In the future, however, we can hope that the following generations will experience more and more liberation from the condemnation society has imposed. We can correct many problems by having professional staff who are properly trained in the concerns of the gay/lesbian community and who are not homophobic.
We can support community initiatives such as the “Green Carnation Seniors Program”, which is attempting to fill a gap in services to elderly gays and lesbians in Montreal. This program, which started in earnest in the fall of 1990, is designed to help them with such areas as shopping, trips to doctors, friendly visiting, estate planning, bereavement and other counseling, contact with the gay/lesbian communities; in short, to combat isolation and loneliness.
We must start somewhere! Why not start with ourselves?
Implications for our practice
What can we, as helping professionals, do? To begin with, we must focus on the gay population in general. We must counter homophobia and be sensitive to the effects it has had on gay men and lesbians. For example, gays may have internalized the same homophobia, and thus, may be self-punitive because of it. Any practician with a homophobic attitude will behave in a way that is counter-productive and counter-therapeutic. These practicians will not be effective in working with their gay/lesbian clientele.
Next we should consider that the quality of care we give can be enhanced by having open communication with our lesbian or gay client. Without this, clients are naturally going to be hesitant to relate all information, perhaps hindering their access to appropriate help.
Advocacy is another service we can give to our gay/lesbian clients. An example of this would be supporting clients’ right to have a lover/partner visit in the hospital, even if their relationship makes some of the hospital staff uncomfortable. Advocacy could also entail supporting a client’s wish to have a partner/lover, rather than a family member, make crucial medical decisions. The key element to consider in advocating for your client is self-determination, that is, freewill. It is not up to us to make judgments about when it is best that someone’s sexuality be discussed, even if we think it would be helpful to the person, for example in the case of health care. Another way we can help is to be educators. We can reduce many health problems by providing programs that are aimed at being non-judgmental and promoting the concept that self-knowledge is important. For example, we should point out to lesbians who avoid routine pelvic examinations and pap tests, that this avoidance is not in their best interests since it is not only heterosexual women who need to be concerned about cervical cancer. Practicians can also act as educators for their co-workers or other professionals, sharing what we have learned or experienced through working with gays. We might also encourage exploration of literature in this area.
Schools can and should play a better role in education. Birth control and sexually transmitted disease prevention are taught, but issues associated with the gay/lesbian communities are ignored, especially in relation to the elderly communities. This needs to be corrected.
Service development is yet another area we can focus on. Health centers for lesbians and gay men that would compensate for the inadequacy of the usual health arena would be one area for development; or we could advocate the realignment of existing systems to give better care to the population. Older gays also need places for recreation. This segment of the population is not yet considered in the planning of new or existing resources.
We must recognize the aging concerns of the gay population. We have discussed them through this paper: isolation, self-imposed secrecy and vulnerability. The legal issues of wills, curatorship, visitation rights, family conflicts and so on must be incorporated into our existing services.
Bereavement counseling does not exist in the gay community, except in some AIDS organizations. Some of the issues a gay person encounters at this time include reactions of health care professionals and funeral directors, and those of the bereaved’s nuclear family or employer. These may worsen an already difficult time.
The elderly gay people we will be in contact with have experienced severe oppression throughout their lives. In the future, however, we can hope that the following generations will experience more and more liberation from the condemnation society has imposed. We can correct many problems by having professional staff who are properly trained in the concerns of the gay/lesbian community and who are not homophobic.
We can support community initiatives such as the “Green Carnation Seniors Program”, which is attempting to fill a gap in services to elderly gays and lesbians in Montreal. This program, which started in earnest in the fall of 1990, is designed to help them with such areas as shopping, trips to doctors, friendly visiting, estate planning, bereavement and other counseling, contact with the gay/lesbian communities; in short, to combat isolation and loneliness.
We must start somewhere! Why not start with ourselves?
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