TPC Journal V7, Issue 3 - FULL ISSUE

The Professional Counselor | Volume 7, Issue 3 233 There are different psychological/social issues impacting gay men versus lesbian women. .098 -.093 .482 .202 I am aware of institutional barriers that may inhibit LGB people from using mental health services. .524 .171 .684 .334 I am aware that counselors frequently impose their values concerning sexuality upon LGB clients. .394 -.023 .758 .195 Being born a heterosexual person in this society carries with it certain advantages. .216 .040 .636 .112 I feel that sexual orientation differences between counselor and client may serve as an initial barrier to effective counseling of LGB individuals. .038 -.220 .482 -.055 At this point in my professional development, I feel competent, skilled, and qualified to counsel LGB clients. .904 .310 .301 .659 I have experience counseling lesbian or gay couples. .440 .169 .147 .720 I have experience counseling lesbian clients. .494 .178 .199 .847 I have been to in-services, conference sessions, or workshops which focused on LGB issues (in Counseling, Psychology, Mental Health). .397 .261 .192 .540 I have experience counseling bisexual (male or female) clients. .479 .181 .179 .891 Discussion The purpose of this research was to explore the factor structure and reliability of the SOCCS with a sample of counselor trainees and practitioners in the United States. Our results identified a 4-factor SOCCS model, including the subscales of Skills, Awareness, Knowledge, and Experience. The 4-factor SOCCS structure identified with these substantiate the three previous factors of Skills, Awareness, and Knowledge; however, an additional factor is noted. The fourth factor, Experience, echoes Graham and colleagues’ (2012) findings, which note improved competence with practice. Hence, the results of this study should encourage researchers to explore beyond the 3-factor model and promote measurement versatility with counselor trainees and clinicians. Overall, our results identified a 4-factor SOCCS model with strong internal consistency, offering counselor educators and practitioners a sound method for assessing sexual orientation counselor competence. Implications for Counselors and Counselor Educators Counselor competency with sexual minority clients is essential in counselor education (ACA, 2014; ALGBTIC, 2013; CACREP, 2009). Our findings support the use of the SOCCS as a valid and reliable measure of sexual orientation counselor competency. Therefore, we suggest that the SOCCS may be implemented in counselor training programs to assess trainees’ levels of competency in providing services to sexual minority clients. Our results identified that in addition to the previously suggested areas of importance in sexual orientation counselor competence (i.e., Skills, Awareness, Knowledge), experience may be an important factor to consider. Counselor educators may consider methods of facilitating experiences within training in order to foster increases in competence. Further, the SOCCS may be used as a pedagogical intervention strategy in counselor education programs. For example, the SOCCS may be given to students to prompt reflection on overall and subscale competence levels regarding counseling sexual minority clients. The SOCCS may also be used beyond counselor education programs to assure that practicing counselors not only have, but also maintain necessary