Lesbians With Physical Disabilities: A Qualitative Study of Their Experiences With Counseling

Abstract

The authors interviewed 25 lesbians with physical disabilities about their counseling experiences. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach, the authors identified 9 themes. Five themes addressed participants' perceptions of their counselors: general satisfaction or dissatisfaction, counselors' general effectiveness, counselors' awareness and education regarding sexual orientation and/or disability, discrimination and bias, and counselor identity. Three themes related to the participants' attempts to negotiate the counseling process: coming out or self-disclosure, self-advocacy, and accessibility/accommodations. The final theme related to depression.