Religion, Spirituality, and Sexuality

This afternoon we are going to take a look at an issue that has created great tensions between religious groups in this country – sexuality. The most significant current debate centers around marriage, but there are many related issues that are not being discussed. The antipathy many people of faith show towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community is often detrimental to the psychological well being of LGBT individuals. Furthermore, many LGBT individuals are people of faith and maintaining a religious and homosexual identity is a difficult landscape to traverse. Speaking with us today to explore the complications of religion, spirituality, and sexuality is Dr. Bob Barrett. Robert Barrett, Ph.D. is currently the Chair of the Clinical Psychology Programs and Associate Professor at the American School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University Washington, DC Campus. Dr. Barrett is a graduate of the California School of Professional Psychology in San Diego, California. Dr Barrett also has a Masters Degree in Theology from the Catholic University of America and is a graduate of the Institute for Spirituality and Worship at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley Calif. Prior to coming to Argosy Dr. Barrett held positions as Director of Clinical Services and Executive Director of the Livingston Foundation Medical Center in San Diego, CA. He developed programs in psychoneuroimmunology for cancer patients and provided on-going psychological support services as well as serving in these administrative positions. Other professional roles include working as a police psychologist with the San Diego Police Department as well as other law enforcement agencies in the southern California area. After moving back to the Washington DC area Dr. Barrett also worked as Senior Consultant for Human Resources Inc. on a human factors engineering contract with the Federal Aviation Administration. Dr Barrett’s research interests include clin