Personal and Professional Discord: Examining Religious Conservatism and Lesbian‐, Gay‐, and Bisexual‐Affirmative Counselor Competence

Abstract

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) orientations can evoke strong reactions that are often based on personal beliefs that seemingly conflict with professional standards calling for LGB‐affirmative counseling. This study examined the relationship between religious conservatism and LGB‐affirmative counselor competence. Controlling for education level, political conservatism, and LGB interpersonal contact, the results indicate that, as religious conservatism increased, LGB competency significantly decreased. The strongest predictor of LGB‐affirmative counselor competency was religious fundamentalism, whereas multicultural course work was not a significant predictor.

Beyond Competence: Fostering LGBTQQI Ally Development Through Supervision

“…This conflict also expressed itself differently depending on who the participants associated with, being more acute and dysphoric if the participants were around other people who held predominantly negative attitudes toward LGBTQQI individuals (Borgman, 2009). Assessing supervisee ally development using the components of the SVCI model can ground exploration of awareness and attitudes in concrete experiences, helping to normalize fluctuations in supervisees' growth toward LGBTQQI competence (Bidell, 2014;Dillon et al, 2004). Supervisors can also use the SVCI framework to self-disclose their own ally development process.…”

“…We propose that, as an extension of LGBTQQI responsive supervision based on multicultural competence (Bidell, 2014;Luke & Goodrich, 2011), counseling supervision for LGBTQQI ally development can be enhanced through incorporation of a developmental perspective and a framework for affirming case conceptualization with LGBTQQI clients. In terms of a developmental perspective, Stoltenberg and Delworth's (1987) integrated developmental model (IDM) of supervision is helpful for addressing supervisee growth as LGBTQQI allies.…”

School Counselors as Allies: The Relationship Between Sexual Orientation Competence and Open and Affirming Service for LGBTQ Youth

“…(1) an a priori α level of .05 to test the unique variance shared between SOCCS scores and the perceived level of open and affirming services, (2) one independent variable of interest, (3) seven secondary variables identified from the literature as associated with sexual orientation competence, and (4) an estimated medium effect size of .10 given reported effect sizes reported between SOCCS scores and other factors (Bidell, 2005(Bidell, , 2014. With these parameters, a sample size of 79 participants was identified as necessary to achieve a power level of .80, or acceptable power using criteria developed by Cohen (1988).…”

“…Participants were asked to include their age, years of experience, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethno-cultural heritage, mode of spiritual or religious belief, status as a school counselor (student-intern, full-time school counselor, or part-time school counselor/full-time counselor educator), and building level (elementary, middle, high-school, or mixed). Bidell (2014) found that courses completed in LGBTQ counseling predicted SOCCS scores as part of a saturated model, and so this variable was included in the demographic questionnaire as well as the number of continuing education sessions had completed in LGBTQ issues in counseling. The 126 final members of the participant sample responded to each item on the demographic questionnaire.…”

Same-Sex Marriage and the Boundaries of Diversity: Will Marriage and Family Therapy Remain Inclusive of Religious and Social Conservatives?

“…As a result, many Supreme Court observers anticipate future judicial decisions may well legalize such marriages on a national basis in America. These developments are likely to further intensify tensions for many religious and socially conservative marriage and family therapists and create significant challenges for relations between these therapists and the mental health associations to which they belong (Bidell, 2014;Rosik, Teraoka, & Morretto, 2014). Such challenges may be particularly salient to the members and leadership of marriage and family therapy organizations such as the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), who by definition are identified with the care and strengthening of marriages (AAMFT, 2005).…”