Sexual minority youth (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning) function in a society that condones homophobia. Results of a research study conducted by J. Sears (1991) indicated that teachers often expressed that they should be more proactive, supportive, and committed to the welfare of all their students, but the realities of…

Few therapists are trained to provide affirmative, effective therapy for clients who are sexually nontraditional and from various multicultural backgrounds. The author explores several models that can be used to increase students' understanding of such clients. Pederson's Triad model uses the theory of three conversations at work in the counseling…

This study attempted to develop psychometric properties of the Sexual Orientation Counselor Competency Scale (SOCCS), an instrument used to assess the awareness, skills, and knowledge of counselors working with the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) population. A sample of 287 undergraduates, master-level and doctoral-level students, and counseling…

Using ethnographic research methods, semistructured interviews were conducted with three women involved with a gay/lesbian/bisexual student organization. All three individuals were sophomores at an urban university in a large metropolitan area. The students discussed the fluid nature of the definitions of lesbian, gay, and bisexual, noting that…

Empirical evidence suggests that client gender, client sexual orientation, counselor gender, and counselor sexual orientation are factors that influence counselors attitudes and treatment practices with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients. However, it is unclear how these factors may interact to affect attitudes and treatment practices.…

This study used data from a national survey to examine the relationship of openness regarding sexual orientation to job satisfaction, job stress, and identity for self-identified homosexual and bisexual public school teachers. A survey was sent to participants through national, state, and urban based gay teacher organizations. Of the 1,350 surveys…

This study used data from a national survey of homosexual and bisexual public school teachers to explore differences among participants in rural, suburban, and urban schools. A survey was sent to 1,350 participants through national, state, and urban based gay teacher organizations. Of those sampled, 904 responded. Findings included the following:…

This paper presents a study to improve and enrich understanding of how the disclosure or non-disclosure of a lesbian, gay male, or bisexual teacher's sexual orientation at work influences his or her perceptions of job satisfaction and job stress. Consideration was given to the general level of job satisfaction and job stress among lesbian, gay…