According to a poll released by the Public Policy Institute of California on September 24, 2008, Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage in California, is unlikely to pass. With 55% of likely voters opposed, 41% in favor of the ban, and only 4% undecided, the initiative is rapidly losing momentum. But regardless of the outcome at the polls, the issues facing the Queer community are more complex that just the right to be married.

According to Keiko Lane, MA, MFT, a psychotherapist and faculty member in the Somatic Psychology program at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), "Queer communities that had their identities and experiences organized around marginalization have started showing up in the Weddings section of The New York Times. Clients and clinicians need to explore how these seemingly contradictory identities of outsider and normative are going to coexist." In order to address the unique issues facing counselors working with Queer populations, CIIS is hosting a groundbreaking conference, Queer Bodies in Psychotherapy.

Queer Bodies in Psychotherapy will take place from Friday, October 17 through Sunday, October 19, 2008, at Hotel Whitcomb in San Francisco. The price for the conference is $225. For those not attending the conference, a limited number of tickets for Tim Miller's performance on October 17 will be sold for $25. Discounted student early bird rates are also available. For more information or to register, call CIIS Public Programs at 415.575.6165 or register online at www.ciis.edu/publicprograms

Chaired by Lane and sponsored by the Institute's Center for the Body in Psychotherapy, the conference brings together academics, psychotherapists, Queer theorists and community activists. It begins with a special performance of "Sex/Body/Self" by performance artist and "NEA Four" member Tim Miller and features a keynote address, "Show Me Your ID," by poet and activist Jewelle Gomez. It will also include more than 20 workshops and lectures covering a provocative range of topics, including transgender educator and attorney Dylan Vade on navigating the expanding galaxy of gender identities and bodies; SJ Kahn on potential biases to impacting effective treatment of couples living in nontraditional partnerships and families; Vernon Rosario on queer Latino teens negotiating sexuality, culture, and poverty; Zach Finley on gay male bodies, shame, and addiction; CIIS faculty Alzak Amlani on familial and cultural constraints for Middle Eastern and South Asian Americans; as well as presentations on queer activisms, queer conception and nonviolent parenting, and the psychodynamic theory of S/M.

"For the Queer community, increased visibility brought about by changes in the social landscape has resulted in new problems or new versions of the same problems they have traditionally faced," says Lane, "Queer clients are coming into my psychotherapy practice struggling with questions about marriage, parenting, and the PTA, and some of these same clients are still coming in struggling with issues of taboo sexualities, desires, attractions, and conflicts with their own communities and families of origin."

But the issues arising from increased tolerance are not limited to those who identify as Queer. "Straight clients are also coming in with more questions about sexual identities," Lane continues, "and part of our commitment to the notion of 'Queer' is that it holds enough space for all of these experiences."

Event Details

Queer Bodies in Psychotherapy
October 17-19, 2008
Hotel Whitcomb
1231 Market Street, San Francisco, CA
$225 for full weekend; $200 if registered by October 8
$150 for students, interns, and CIIS alumni
$25 for Tim Miller event (if not attending conference)

For more information: 415.575.6175 or www.ciis.edu/publicprograms

California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) is an institution of higher education offering interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and applied studies in psychology, counseling, philosophy, religion, cultural anthropology, transformative studies and leadership, integrative health, women's spirituality, community mental health, and the arts. The Institute offers master's and doctoral degrees, as well as a Bachelor of Arts completion degree and advanced certificates. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). For more information, visit www.ciis.edu.

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