Seminar in Professional Development:
Article Review #1
David Schlosz
The University of Texas at San Antonio Seminar in Professional Development:
Article Review #1
Whitman and Bidell (2014) discussed the ongoing challenges the counseling field is experiencing with helping students reconcile their religious beliefs with their professional responsibility to provide competent non-discriminatory services to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients.
Article Summary
Historically, homosexuality has been pathologized. This is mainly due to the moralistic views of multiple conservative religions. Although removal of homosexuality from the DSM was a pivotal moment, it was only the beginning of much needed remedial action. This gave rise to the need for competencies to be developed that included ethical considerations and practical guidelines. In 1998 the ACA passed a resolution affirming its opposition to the portrayal of LGB clients as ill and supporting the dissemination of accurate information about sexuality, mental health, and appropriate interventions. In 2004, ACA released a set of competencies for LGB affirmative practices and in 2005 the ACA published a new code of ethics which included an emphasis on multicultural counseling competencies that included …show more content…
The authors cite research using the Sexual Orientation Counselor Competency Scale that highlighted a 2010 study that found that although some counselors felt competent, over half reported no receiving no LGB affirmative counselor training. An additional challenge preventing counselor educators from addressing this is strong reactions to this issue prompted by people’s firmly held religious beliefs and values. Whitman and Bidell cite two legal cases that used freedom of speech and freedom of religion as