Denise Levy Ph.D.

Denise L. Levy, Ph.D., LCSW, REACE currently serves as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Beaver College of Health Sciences. Dr. Levy began working at Appalachian State University in 2008, and has taught courses in both the MSW and BSW Programs, including Advanced Social Work Practice with Families, Cultural Competence in the Helping Professions, and field seminars. She previously served as the BSW Program Director and MSW Program Director. Utilizing qualitative methods, Dr. Levy’s research focuses on how LGBTQ individuals with a Christian upbringing resolve conflict between sexual/gender identity and religious beliefs. She is an ally and advocate and believes in the power of bridge building and intergroup dialogue to foster understanding and acceptance. When she is not working, Dr. Levy enjoys cooking, gardening, listening to music, running, creating art with her expressive arts writing group, traveling to Disney World, and spending time with her husband, Daniel, and their cat Ruby. She likes to cheer for the Georgia Bulldogs, Atlanta Braves, New Orleans Saints and Appalachian State Mountaineers.

There are 28 included publications by Denise Levy Ph.D.:

TitleDateViewsBrief Description
Book Review -- Spirituality, Religion, And Faith In Psychotherapy: Evidence-Based Expressive Methods For Mind, Brain, And Body (By H. Land) 2015 174 A book review of Spirituality, Religion, and Faith in Psychotherapy: Evidence-Based Expressive Methods for Mind, Brain, and Body, by H. Land. Reviewed by Denise L. Levy in the Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, volume ...
Crisis Of Faith In Gay Christians: An Examination Using Transformational Learning Theory 2006 183 This paper examines the social work practice issue of Christian, homosexual individuals facing a crisis of faith. The phrase crisis of faith, though commonly used in scholarly text and popular culture, is not clearly defined in religious, philosophic...
Culturally Competent Practice With Muslim Clients 2009 184 This module fulfills the Council on Social Work Education’s (2008) fourth core competency, which directs social workers to “engage diversity and difference in practice” (p. 3). After completion of this module, students will: (a) be able to identify t...
Exploring Social Justice Through Music 2013 611 The concept of social justice is taught in many college courses across numerous disciplines, including social work, political philosophy, education, and psychology. According to Rawls (1999), social justice is “the basic structure of society, or more...
Gay And Lesbian Identity Development: An Overview For Social Workers 2009 1423 Social work literature on the topic of gay and lesbian identity development is sparse. Although some texts do include sections on social work practice with gay and lesbian individuals, rarely is this information presented within the broader context o...
Gay, Lesbian, And Queer Individuals With A Christian Upbringing: Exploring The Process Of Resolving Conflict Between Sexual Identity And Religious Beliefs 2008 527 The role that religious faith plays in individuals’ lives can be very important, often providing emotional and social support. However, religious beliefs can come into conflict with other aspects of people’s identities, such as sexual orientation. Re...
"I Never Felt Like There Was A Place For Me:" Experiences Of Bisexual And Pansexual Individuals With A Christian Upbringing 2018 1595 Popular and scholarly literature describes the conflicts experienced by some gay and lesbian Christians, but less is known about the unique experiences of bisexual and pansexual populations. The purpose of this study was to understand the process by ...
The Importance Of Personal And Contextual Factors In Resolving Conflict Between Sexual Identity And Christian Upbringing 2011 2008 This study explores how gay, lesbian, and queer (GLQ) individuals who are raised in Christian families resolve conflict between their sexual identity and religious beliefs. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 GLQ participants who reveale...
Journeys Of Faith: Christian Social Workers Serving Gay And Lesbian Clients 2011 381 Christian social workers are often faced with the task of managing differences between personal values and professional ethics. This article will address one such instance, working with gay and lesbian clients. I will describe my own experience as a ...
LGBTQ Topics And Christianity In Social Work: Tackling The Tough Questions 2017 5090 Social workers are mandated to be inclusive of all persons. A number of critical questions are often asked about the intersection of LGBTQ topics and Christianity in social work. These questions speak to important issues such as ethical and competent...
LGBTQ+ People Seeking A Faith Community Home: Implications For Social Workers And Allied Helping Professionals 2023 117 LGBTQ+ people experience protective benefits from faith community participation, although some also experience minority stress from rejection and discrimination. Social workers, counselors, psychologists, nurse practitioners, and others can assist LG...
LGBTQ+ People's Religious And Spiritual Experiences In The COVID-19 Pandemic 2022 703 Personal religion and spirituality can be sources of strength during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing from a larger study of LGBTQ+ wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic, this article reports on the faith and spirituality of LGBTQ+ adult...
On The Outside Looking In? The Experience Of Being A Straight, Cisgender Qualitative Researcher 2013 1490 Research with disenfranchised and marginalized populations is often completed by those traditionally considered outsiders who are not part of the studied population. The history of outsider research has been somewhat tumultuous, and some outsider res...
Preparing Students For Research And For Work With The Transgender Population: Exploring The Results Of An Innovative Course Pairing 2013 871 In an effort to provide opportunities for social work students to develop competencies for research and for working with transgender individuals, the authors paired content in two separate undergraduate courses: cultural competence and research metho...
The Relationship Between Service Learning And Undergraduate Social Work Students' Professional Value Development 2015 910 Service learning has long been used to foster students’ personal and professional development and encourage civic engagement. This study explored how service learning affected the development of professional values in undergraduate social work studen...
Religion And Endorsement Of Same-Sex Marriage: The Role Of Syncretism Between Denominational Teachings About Homosexuality And Personal Religious Beliefs 2012 433 Endorsement of same-sex marriage has increased in recent years; however, opposition continues and is often based on religious ideology. Previous research investigating the influence of religion on support for same-sex marriage has ignored the possibl...
Religious And Spiritual Journeys Of LGBT Older Adults In Rural Southern Appalachia 2021 1613 This article reports on religious and spiritual experiences of 11 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or trans*-identified (LGBT) older adults in rural southern Appalachia. Template analysis of interview data yielded themes including: harmful experiences wit...
Religious Tradition, Religiosity, Or Everyday Theologies? Unpacking Religion's Relationship To Support For Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage Among A College Student Sample 2013 1016 This study explores the differential impact of religious tradition, religiosity, and everyday theologies on support for legalizing same-sex marriage among a sample of undergraduate college students. The findings suggest that among college students in...
Resolving Identity Conflict: Gay, Lesbian, And Queer Individuals With A Christian Upbringing 2011 3158 Gay, lesbian, and queer individuals with a Christian upbringing often experience conflict between religion and sexual identity. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand how gay, lesbian, and queer-identified individuals with a Chri...
Sexual Identity, Gender Identity, And A Christian Upbringing: Comparing Two Studies 2013 172 This article compares the results of two qualitative studies, the first examining conflict between sexual identity and a Christian upbringing and the second examining conflict between gender identity and a Christian upbringing. After briefly reviewin...
Sexual Prejudice Among Christian College Students, Denominational Teachings, And Personal Religious Beliefs 2012 507 Although numerous studies have examined the role of religious tradition and religiosity on attitudes toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, the role of endorsement of denominational teachings has largely been overlooked, even though such teachings...
Social Justice And Lesbian Feminism: Two Theories Applied To Homophobia 2007 778 Trends in contemporary social work include the use of an eclectic theory base. In an effort to incorporate multiple theories, this article will examine the social problem of homophobia using two different theoretical perspectives: John Rawls’ theory ...
Teaching Note -- Challenges In The Classroom On LGBTQ Topics And Christianity In Social Work 2019 726 This article provides guidance in facilitating the development of culturally sensitive skills for working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) populations that take into account power and privilege. Social work faculty and stud...
Transgender, Transsexual, And Gender Queer Individuals With A Christian Upbringing: The Process Of Resolving Conflict Between Gender Identity And Faith 2013 4072 Individuals who identify as transgender, transsexual, or gender queer and Christian can face a unique set of challenges in attempting to integrate their faith and gender identity. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the process by...
"We Shared A Heartbeat": Protective Functions Of Faith Communities In The Lives Of LGBTQ+ People 2021 2866 Although prior research has demonstrated that faith communities, religiosity, and/or religious af?liation can be risk factors for depression, suicide, and substance abuse among LGBTQ+ people, there is also promising evidence of the protective functio...
What Does The Q Mean? Including Queer Voices In Qualitative Research 2011 1564 Despite much of the fear and ambiguity over the use of the term queer in professional and academic settings, we recommend researchers include the language and the population in the study of sexual identity. During our own recent research endeavors, w...
When Love Meets Hate: The Relationship Between State Policies On Gay And Lesbian Rights And Hate Crime Incidence 2017 1300 Do public policies on gay and lesbian rights affect the incidence of hate crimes based on sexual orientation? We propose that legal inequalities increase hate crimes because they provide discursive opportunities for bias, discrimination, and violence...
Why Can't We Be Friends? Using Music To Teach Social Justice 2012 142 Listening to music is an emotional and educational experience that has the potential to shape an individual’s values, actions, and worldview. Widely used in elementary education, music can also be a fresh, innovative teaching tool in higher education...