TPC-Journal-V5-Issue4

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 4 503 members may ascribe to heterosexist beliefs and not be accepting of the individual (Gorman-Murray, 2008). Sexual minority youth must consider the potential ramifications of disclosing their sexual identity, particularly in conservative households. Due to differences in beliefs and consequential conflicts, sexual minority youth are often beaten, disowned and kicked out of their homes (Bernal & Coolhart, 2005). According to Hilton and Szymanski (2011), the entire familial unit is affected by the disclosure. Siblings may feel concerned for the sexual minority sibling, angry or disappointed with parental reactions, consider the changes that would need to occur for themselves, and prepare to deal with the challenge of heterosexism. Children of sexual minorities also are affected by disclosure. According to Joos and Broad (2007), adult children reported experiencing feelings of fear, terror and secrecy. It is suggested that the family as a whole endures a process of coming out that includes elements of embracing identity, integrating as a family, building social networks and experiencing social awakening (Baptist & Allen, 2008). Another layer of the cycle of coming out (CCO) that is important to consider is peer disclosure. When sexual minorities choose to acknowledge their identity publicly and reveal to their peers, they often are met with threats, assaults, harassment and hostility (Alderson, 2003; Chutter, 2007; Degges- White & Myers, 2005). A 2010 report by the GLSEN revealed that almost 90% of sexual minority students heard the term “gay” used negatively, 61% felt unsafe at school due to identity, almost 85% experienced verbal harassment, and 40% experienced physical harassment. Given that peer groups are constantly evolving, sexual minorities must face disclosure to multiple peer groups over the course of their lifetime and hence the coinciding reactions, effects and consequence are important to consider and validate. In addition to family and peer groups, societal messages highlight the marginalized status given to individuals who identify outside of the heterosexist binary established in Western society. This marginalization provides the foundation for the unique, complex process of identity development and disclosure for sexual minorities (Cooper, 2008; Dermer et al., 2010; Israel & Selvidge, 2003). For example, sexual minorities must consider disclosure toward those within their inner social circles (e.g., family, friends) as well as to individuals who are outside of this intimate realm (e.g., colleagues, employers, neighbors, strangers). With each decision, sexual minorities may experience persistent emotions, thoughts and behaviors associated with previous instances of coming out, highlighting the importance of acknowledging the recurring experience of sexual minority status that reaches beyond the scope of a pivotal one-time occurrence. Need for Counselor Preparation Counselors’ competence in working with sexual minority clients requires counselors to be affirmative, open, supportive and utilize holistic approaches in assisting clients through the COP (Bidell, 2005; Cooper, 2008; Israel, Ketz, Detrie, Burke, & Shulman, 2003; Rutter, Estrada, Ferguson, & Diggs, 2008). Within this spectrum, a variety of topics have been considered as aspects to contribute to counselor preparedness such as ethical issues, terminology, awareness of current issues and willingness to advocate. Israel and colleagues (2003) conducted a modified Delphi study in an effort to better understand sexual minority counseling competencies. They surveyed professional experts who had published at least one book, book chapter, or article on lesbian, gay, and/or bisexual (LGB) clients as well as sexual minority clients who had experiences in counseling. Results indicated that out of 31 highlighted skills, the ability to assist clients through coming out was ranked as the third most important skill for working with sexual minority clients by professional experts and fourth most important skill by sexual minority experts. Although coming out is ranked highly as an important skill in assisting LGB individuals, clients are consistently dissatisfied with counselors’ abilities to