UMass Boston

Sharon G. Horne, PhD, conducts research on LGBTQ psychological health and international psychology concerns. Her LGBTQ+ Research Team, co-led with Heidi M. Levitt, PhD, a faculty member in clinical psychology at UMass Boston, focuses on improving and expanding the lives of LGBT+ individuals through study of issues relevant to LGBTQ+ experience. Within a social justice framework, we explore LGBTQ health and wellness from both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Main project focus:

• The impact of social policy (e.g., equality bills, LGBTQ+ affirmative guidelines) and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation on the psychological well-being of LGBTQ+ persons and communities. Recent articles:
  • Horne, S.G., McGinley, M., Yel, N., & Maroney, M.R. (2022). The stench of bathroom bills and anti-transgender legislation: Referendum-related anxiety and depression among transgender, nonbinary and cisgender LGBQ people. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 69(1), 1-13.
  • Horne, S.G., Johnson, T., Yel, N., Maroney, M. R., & McGinley, M. (2021). Unequal rights between LGBTQ Parents living in the U.S.: The association of minority stress to relationship satisfaction and parental stress. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 11(2), 141-160.

• The role of international psychology in LGBTQ+ lives and communities, including therapist competencies in working with LGBTQ+ clients. Recent articles:
  • Horne, S. G., & McGinley, M. (2022). A global export, a local commodity: SOCE/GICE in international contexts. In D. Haldeman & M. Hendricks (Eds.), The Case Against Conversion Therapy. American Psychological Association.
  • Horne, S. G. (2020). The challenges and promises of transnational LGBTQ psychology: Somewhere over and under the rainbow. American Psychologist, 75(9), 1358–1371.
  • Horne, S. G., & Manalastas, E. (2020). Psychology and the global human rights agenda on sexual orientation and gender identity. In N. Rubin & R. Flores (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Human Rights*. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. *Book Finalist for the PROSE Award presented by the Association of American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence. *Recipient of the 2021 APA Division of International Psychology Ursula Gielen Book Award
  • Horne, S. G., Maroney, M. R., Nel, J., Chaparro, R., & Manalastas, E. (2019). Emergence of a transnational LGBTI psychology: Commonalities and challenges in advocacy and activism. American Psychologist, 74, 8, 967–986.
  • Horne, S. G., & White, L. (2019). The return of repression: Mental health concerns of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People in Russia. In N. Nakamura & C. H. Logie (Eds.), LGBTQ Mental Health: International Perspectives and Experiences (pp. 75-88). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Current Projects

• LGBTQ+ affirmative therapy among mental health professionals in Colombia, South Africa, the Philippines, Iran, Korea, Russia, and other countries
• LGBTQ+ Client experiences of therapy in Colombia, South Africa, and the Philippines
• LGBTQ+ activist development and experience (particularly in the U.S. South and globally)
• Transnational LGBTQ+ policies and changes and impact on LGBTQ+ lives (e.g., marriage equality in Taiwan with Ph.D. candidate Chia-Po Cheng)
• Psychological impact of elections and state-wide referenda on LGBTQ+ experience
• LGBTQ+ immigration and refugee concerns (e.g., with Ph.D. candidate Jonathan Briseño)
• Other projects have focused on same-sex couples and relationship factors; internalized heterosexism and mental health factors; spirituality and religious concerns; parenting and family concerns; experiences of psychotherapy

Dr. Horne is a fellow of the American Psychological Association in Division 17 (Counseling Psychology), Division 44 (Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) and Division 52 (International Psychology). She was an Open Society Foundations Academic Fellow with the Psychology Department at American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan 2005-2015. Dr. Horne was an American Psychological Association Representative for the International Network of LGBT Concerns (IPsyNet) from 2012-2022, and she chaired the development of the International Psychology Statement and Commitment on LGBTQ+ Concerns. Dr. Horne is a Global Fulbright Scholar (2018-2023), and in 2020, she won the Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology from the American Psychological Association (APA) in recognition for her transnational work.

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