Graduate Students' Training Experiences with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues

Abstract

The doctoral training experiences of 69 counseling and 38 clinical psychology graduate students in lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) issues prior to internship were examined. Descriptive statistics revealed that training in these issues was inadequate. A majority of respondents did not feel that their course work prepared them well to work with LGB clients. Less training was provided in bisexual issues than gay or lesbian issues. Comparisons between clinical and counseling respondents indicated that counseling programs had better records of training in LGB issues. Multiple regressions revealed several predictors of respondents' feelings of preparation to work with LGB clients, including formal training experiences, encouragement to explore heterosexist biases, modeling by trainers, and personal experiences and contacts. Results varied by target group (i.e., patterns of prediction differed for preparation to work with lesbian women, gay men, or bisexual people). Implications for training and suggestions for future research are discussed.