Hey everyone.
I am working on my masters in clinical mental health counseling, and I want to be multiculturally sensitive, including regarding the LGBTQ+ community.
I am a straight, cisgender male, and I have only had a handful of gay and trans friends/acquaintances. Multicultural awareness is certainly part of my education, but I don’t believe it is close to enough. I want to hear from communities themselves, not just textbooks.
If you feel comfortable, I would really appreciate your feedback to make me a more effective counselor working with people in your demographic.
How can I best serve you?
What have you wished a past counselor could have understood?
What really pissed you off in a therapy session?
What is the most important thing for me to try to understand?
I hope this is received well. I genuinely want to be able to effectively serve all people.
The best counseling I got was from a hospital therapist when I was just coming out. Or coming to terms with it. He was straight, religious, mid-60s, married. He helped me realize that society really wouldn’t see me differently and that my life and dreams weren’t going to be different just because I was also falling in love with men. But he still offered me the choice or going back if that was what I was most comfortable with.
In the end, I think I had already made my mind up before that counselor even saw me. But him being a reassuring presence in a very vulnerable and stressful moment meant a lot to me. His help made me advise other friends and family going through similar struggles to get counseling, and it’s totally changed their lives for the better, too. Having outside help, free from the potential conflicts of interest with getting similar help from friends and family, is really nice.
If you want to become a better resource, I’d start by making more LGBT+ friends. It will give you better insight into people’s lives and struggles. But it’s also just healthy to have a diverse mix of friends. Broadens your horizons. :)
I absolutely agree with you and I’m hoping to do just that. I have trouble making/keeping friends in general due to life’s inherent chaos. The older I get, the harder it seems to be to make new friends. In undergrad, I’d make good friends for that semester, and then slowly lose touch after the semester ended.
Being naturally introverted makes it a bit of a challenge too. I’ve thought about going to a local bar that isn’t exclusively a gay bar, but it is very inclusive and popular with the local LGBTQ+ community. There’s also a really great support organization downtown that welcomes volunteers, and I plan to pursue that for sure.
Good idea! Sometimes, there are organizations like Queer Mountaineers which can be a fun way to meet people and get outside. :)