Factors influencing therapist selection among gays, lesbians and bisexuals

Kaufman, Jason; Carlozzi, Alfred F.; Boswell, Donald L.; Barnes, Laura L.; Wheeler-Scruggs, Kathy; Levy, Patricia A.

doi:10.1080/09515079708254180

Cited by 27 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…This was consistent with the findings of Kaufman et al (1997) who observed that the sexual orientation of the therapist was not usually a major consideration in choice of therapist for gay men who had already come out. This feeling was summed up by one of the men:…”

Section: Choosing a Therapist -How Important Is Sexual Orientation?supporting

confidence: 93%

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Gay men's experiences of therapy

Mair

2003

Couns and Psychother Res

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Fourteen gay men were interviewed using a structured interview schedule to explore their experiences of being in therapy. Particular importance was given to their perceptions of how their sexual orientation impinged on the counselling process and how their assumptions about counsellor sexual orientation affected the therapeutic relationship. The limitations of using structured interviews in qualitative research are acknowledged. Some significant findings were made, which were not well documented in the literature, such as the impact on the therapeutic relationship of internalised homophobia within gay men themselves. These findings hold the potential to inform counselling practice with gay male clients. Recommendations are made in relation to both practice and further research.

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Section: Choosing a Therapist -How Important Is Sexual Orientation?supporting

confidence: 93%

“…The views of these six men were strong and uncompromising and seemed to indicate a deep level of internalised homophobia. Such views were not reported in the research of Kaufman et al (1997) and were thus all the more striking.…”

Section: Choosing a Therapist -How Important Is Sexual Orientation?mentioning

confidence: 70%

Gay men's experiences of therapy

Mair

2003

Couns and Psychother Res

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“…For some time it has been known that many lesbians and gay men face particular obstacles in seeking mental health services (Garnets, Hancock, Cochran, Goodchilds, & Peplau, 1991) including difficulties in accessing providers who are knowledgeable about lesbian and gay health and lifestyle issues (Kaufman et al, 1997;Liddle, 1997;Trippet, 1994). There is also some reason to believe that this population may access mental health related services at higher rates than others do.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of mental disorders, psychological distress, and mental health services use among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults in the United States.

Cochran¹,

Sullivan²,

Mays³

2003

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

1,150

822

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Recent estimates of mental health morbidity among adults reporting same-gender sexual partners suggest that lesbians, gay men, and bisexual individuals may experience excess risk for some mental disorders as compared with heterosexual individuals. However, sexual orientation has not been measured directly. Using data from a nationally representative survey of 2,917 midlife adults, the authors examined possible sexual orientation-related differences in morbidity, distress, and mental health services use. Results indicate that gay-bisexual men evidenced higher prevalence of depression, panic attacks, and psychological distress than heterosexual men. Lesbian-bisexual women showed greater prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder than heterosexual women. Services use was more frequent among those of minority sexual orientation. Findings support the existence of sexual orientation differences in patterns of morbidity and treatment use.Perspectives on the prevalence of mental health disorders and the need for treatment services among lesbians and gay men have undergone remarkable changes over the last century (Bailey, 1999;Friedman, 1999). Although researchers long ago documented that "illness" models (Gonsiorek, 1996) of homosexuality lacked sufficient empirical support for theoretical predictions (Hooker, 1993), there is increasing concern that lesbians and gay men may be at elevated risk for some psychological disorders because of the harmful effects of social stigma (Fife & Wright, 2000;Kessler, Mickelson, & Williams, 1999;Markowitz, 1998;Meyer, 1995;Otis & Skinner, 1996;Wright, Gronfein, & Owens, 2000). Researchers have shown that some forms of mental disorders, particularly affective, anxiety, and substance use disorders, are likely to be influenced by the effects of social stress (Dohrenwend, 2000;Kendler et al., 1995;Mazure, 1995). In this regard, homosexuality is still widely stigmatized despite greater acceptance evident in recent opinion polls of the American population (Butler, 2001). Lesbians and gay men commonly report positive histories of victimization and discrimination (Herek, Gillis, & Cogan, 1999;Hershberger & D'Augelli, 1995;Krieger & Sidney, 1997), particularly in adolescence or young adulthood (D'Augelli, Hershberger, & Pilkington, 1998;Lock & Steiner, 1999). As a consequence, homosexuality may be a risk indicator for higher rates of psychological distress and some mental disorders.Much of the recent population-based research in this area (Bloomfield, 1993;Cochran, Keenan, Schober, & Mays, 2000;Cochran & Mays, 2000a, 2000bFaulkner & Cranston, 1998;Fergusson, Horwood, & Beautrais, 1999;Garofalo, Wolf, Wissow, Woods, & Goodman, 1999;Gilman et al., 2001;Herrell et al., 1999;Lock & Steiner, 1999;Remafedi, French, Story, Resnick, & Blum, 1998;Saewyc, Bearinger, Heinz, Blum, & Resnick, 1998;Sandfort, de Graaf, Bijl, & Schnabel, 2001;Stall & Wiley, 1988) was made possible by the serendipitous inclusion of questions concerning genders of sexual partners in large healthrelated studies of the gen...

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“…Some of these include 35 social stigmatization, rejection from families, minority stress and homophobic abuse (Barrett et al,1995;Bontempto & D' Augelli, 2002;Kelly et al, 2015;Strodl et al, 2015;Thorpy et al, 2008), which has also been associated with an increased risk of psychological and substance 40 use disorders (Chakraborty et al, 2011;Lyons & Hosking, 2014;Wright et al, 2000). This is exacerbated by barriers to accessing mental health and substance treatment services (Cochran & Cauce, 2006;Kaufman et al, 1997;Staunton, 2007). Experiencing anti-LGBT discrim- 45 ination has also been associated with increased frequency of unprotected sex (Jarama et al, 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%