Discussion Assignment
Part 1
Do you agree (or disagree) that counselors and educators must explore their own biases and prejudices, especially regarding sexual orientation and gender identity or expression? Miller, Miller, and Stull (2007) examined discriminatory behaviors of counselor educators and found “a need for counselor educators to continue examination of their prejudices and discriminatory behaviors, particularly those related to sexual orientation and social class.” Has this class helped you in examining your biases in order to help you become more effective as a clinician? What other research articles have you located that suggests clinicians struggle with skills in assessing and treating various sexual topics? Explain your findings with rationale.
You may refer to the following articles from the South University Online Library or the Internet for your research:
Grove, J. (2009). How competent are trainee and newly qualified counsellors to work
with lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients and what do they perceive as their
most effective learning experiences. Counselling & Psychotherapy Research,
9(2), 78-85. DOI: 10.1080/14733140802490622
Satcher, J., & Leggett, M. (2007). Homonegativity among professional
school counselors: An exploratory study. Professional School
Counseling, 11(1), 10–16.
Morrison, M. & Morrison, T. (2011). Sexual Orientation Bias Toward Gay Men and
Lesbian Women: Modern Homonegative Attitudes and Their Association
With Discriminatory Behavioral Intentions. Journal of Applied Social
Psychology, 41 (11). 2573-2599. DOI: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00838.x
Part 2
Review this week’s lectures, readings, or the Internet and illustrate one of the newest facts about male and female sexual anatomies, physiologies, and responses (for e.g., American Cancer Society statistics on male breast cancer were alarming).
Explain how this new fact has impacted your apprehension toward and perception of human sexuality. Additionally, provide a complete description of what you have learned in this week regarding the male and female anatomies, physiologies, and sexual responses. If you were assigned to assess a client and found that this client reports of being a hermaphrodite, how might you respond? Would you feel comfortable asking this client what sex they identify with?