A A A

To helping profession

Messages to Professional Helpers

Professional helpers often feel confused and be at a loss when they encounter clients from the LGBT+ community, due to a lack of the community’s perspectives in the training of the helping profession. It was sad that some of the helpers’ insufficient understanding of the LGBT+ community has brought the clients different kinds of traumatic experience. As a result, TWGHs Pride Line provides professional training service, with an aim at deepening the helpers’ understanding of this community, after which they can carry out interventions with more confidence and achieve the goals of helping care effectively.

Model of Homosexual Identity Formation

Cass’s Model of Homosexual Identity Formation (Cass, 1979) describes six stages of the homosexuals’ self-identity formation. In each stage, they encounter some struggles, and how they overcome the struggles facilitates or hinders their progress to the next stage. In the beginning, they start to realise their difference with others, followed by their identification, acceptance and pride of themselves as homosexuals.

Homosexuals experience a unique moment of identifying their sexual orientation – having feelings for a friend with the same sex, being amazed by online forums, magazines and fictions, being told the news of the coming out of celebrities… Although these unique moments vary among homosexual people, they usually feel confused and scared when they have the experience. After all, grown up in a society dominated by heterosexuals, homosexuals also develop a stereotype that everyone including themselves is straight. Pace of their self-identity formation also varies. Some of them may be able to embrace their homosexual identity very quickly as their family and friends are more LGBT+ community friendly. In contrast, some of them may have a great struggle to accept themselves, remaining stagnant in the formation of the self-identity.

If the professional helpers understand well in which stage of identity formation their homosexual clients are passing through, they will be able to accompany and help the clients with a more suitable way and attitude.

  • 1

    Identity Confusion

    Who am I?
  • 2

    Identity Comparison

    I am different from others.
  • 3

    Identity Tolerance and Identity Acceptance

    Oh yes, I am a homosexual!
  • 4

    Identity Tolerance and Identity Acceptance

    Oh yes, I am a homosexual!
  • 5

    Identity Synthesis

    My homosexual identity is just a part of ME.
  • 6

    Identity Synthesis

    My homosexual identity is just a part of ME.

  • Stage 1: Identity Confusion

    Grown up in a society dominated by heterosexuals with a stereotype of “everyone is straight”, homosexuals start to spot the little dots showing their difference with others – their feelings for people with the same sex, their unique gender … They become shocked by the gap between the real self and the stereotypical self which is ded by themselves, their family and the society. In this way, they begin to ask, “who am I?” and take the first step to the journey of self-identity formation.

  • Stage 2: Identity Comparison

    After the stage of identity confusion, homosexuals attempt to explore more information in order to help understand themselves. Comparing themselves with others, they gradually find out that they may be different from others. A sense of alienation and frustration follows with their identification as homosexuals. On the one hand, they feel difficult to integrate with the mainstream society. On the other hand, they cannot share their feelings and discuss their issues since they have not yet come out to the people around them. (These people also assume everyone is straight.)

  • Stages 3 and 4: Identity Tolerance and Identity Acceptance

    After that, homosexuals take time to obtain resources until they accept their own identity. It requires them to seek more support (such as making friends with other homosexuals) in order to tackle the issues in different aspects (such as the internalised homophobia), thus, accept themselves as homosexuals.

  • Stages 3 and 4: Identity Tolerance and Identity Acceptance

    After that, homosexuals take time to obtain resources until they accept their own identity. It requires them to seek more support (such as making friends with other homosexuals) in order to tackle the issues in different aspects (such as the internalised homophobia), thus, accept themselves as homosexuals.

  • Stages 5 and 6: Identity Pride and Identity Synthesis

    When the homosexual identity becomes more consolidated and a positive attitude towards it is developed, homosexuals begin to feel proud of themselves. Eventually, they internalise the self-identity as homosexuals and synthesise it with the many other sides of character they have, regarding homosexuality as only a part of self.

  • Stages 5 and 6: Identity Pride and Identity Synthesis

    Transgenders may also experience similar process, but they may already feel dissatisfied with their sex when they are still little. For example, they feel uneasy when they have to go to the washroom or wear the school uniform of their assigned sex (biological sex when people are born). In the years they grow up, they gradually discover that the gender identity and the gender role they wish to take on are different from the dichotomous understanding of those defined by the mainstream society. While they understand that there are possibilities beyond cisgender, they gradually become conscious about their transgender identity. After that, they go through stages of identity acceptance, pride and synthesis as if the descriptions above suggest, in which sufficient knowledge, resources and supports are essential.

Internalised Homophobia

Grown up in a society of heterosexual mainstream, the sexual minorities only get in touch with the images of heterosexual family in their family life, education and media experience. In this way, the notion that “only heterosexuals are normal” influences themselves unconsciously. However, when they start discovering their difference with the mainstream society, they may encounter the situation of internalised homophobia. Various negative emotions and feelings towards homosexuals may occur, including those as follows.

-          Self-loathing: they think they are worthless to be loved or to have a good relationship.

-          Shame: they don’t want their sexual orientation being disclosed.

-          Fear: they don’t want to face the real self as a “non-heterosexual”.

-          Avoidance of the Identity: they may even act like “homophobia”.

Transgender people may also overcome the situations stated above. As they have been educated that only cisgender, being the mainstream, is normal, they become uncomfortable and feared of their internal transgender identity and the real self.

Professional helpers may grasp the needs and struggles of sexual and gender minorities with a better understanding of the concept of internalised homophobia. On the other hand, facing the external pressure and queries from others, sexual and gender minorities also have to review their feelings and emotions, and thus, accept themselves – their real self.

Introduction of the Training

With an understanding of the significance of professional trainings, TWGHs Pride Line organises a series of workshops. During these workshops, we do not only explore the basic knowledge and culture you need to know about the LGBT+ community, but also discuss the uniqueness of the violence occurred in the LGBT+ intimacy. Moreover, we also give a focus on the way to provide a more LGBT+ community-friendly service, so as to increase the LGBT+ community’s motivation to reach out for social services and personal helps.


Ref: Cass, V. (1979). Homosexual identity formation: A theoretical model. Journal of Homosexuality, 4 (3), 219-235.