In comparing the identity development of gay and lesbian client (Homosexual Identity Formation) to the Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model they seems to both been devised to address the conflict that society minorities experience both internally and externally. Both models suggest that inappropriateness of being competent regarding a client’s culture, race, or sexual preference causes problems in assessing a client accurately.

According to Marszalek & Cashwell (1999) the Homosexual Identity Formation proposes six-stages within it model to describe the gay or lesbian identity development that leads to changes occurring in the person accepting their homosexual identity.

The R/CID model “propose five stages of development that oppressed people experience as they struggle to understand themselves in terms of their own culture, the dominant culture, and the oppressive relationship between the two cultures” (Sue & Sue, 2008 p.242).

As a counselor I would feel comfortable in counseling Hermes with his identity issues. I am a person who feels that sexual orientation does not matter and poses no problem as long as the person does not try to force their sexual preference upon anyone else. I feel that people are simply people whether heterosexual or homosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Their sexual orientation would not impact the quality of work I devote to helping them combat an issue they are having problems with.

However if a person is struggling within themselves to identify with who they are and afraid to love and respect themselves because there sexual preference is not considered normal within society perception of what is normal; then they need to deal with these issues. All human strive to be loved and accepted. This is not always the case with homosexual; they are labeled with the stigma that their sexual preference is unnatural and a