Open and frankness: Researcher studies experiences of gay, trans counselors – Johnson City Press (subscription)
In his classrooms and in other supervisory settings, Dr. Mickey White prepares his students at East Tennessee State University to step into the role of a counselor.
He trains them for the types of situations they may face. He provides feedback in the clinical setting. He shares research and best practices, and he leads important exploratory discussions on the complex ethical standards that govern the profession.
White
Unfortunately, when turning to any research and best practices that specifically address the experiences of LGBTQ counselors, White says the bookshelves are almost bare.
It’s something he hopes to change.
Prior to joining the ETSU faculty in 2019, White was a graduate student at the University of North Texas, where his doctoral dissertation focused on the experiences of Black transgender men. Interestingly, the day he defended his dissertation happened to coincide with Juneteenth. With his doctoral degree under his arm, he made the move to Johnson City, where, this fall, he begins his third year as a faculty member in the ETSU Department of Counseling and Human Services.
And he has continued his research into the experiences of queer and transgender persons, focusing now on the journeys of those who work in the counseling profession as counselors, educators or supervisors.
“One of the messages I frequently drive home to my students deals with authenticity and the importance of being genuine in their relationships with their clients,” White said. “There is a personal exchange between the client and counselor, and it’s a place where people are to feel safe.
“Depending on the client, there may be times when queer and trans counselors are faced with whether or not they should self-disclose their sexual or gender identity,” he added. “How do you navigate this? Is this something that is relevant and should be shared? Unfortunately, there isn’t much research available that guides counselors on what they should do.”
White believes the answer to this involves many factors. “There are times when it may be appropriate to disclose this, but it is extremely important that counselors not only be comfortable with this decision, but that they also feel safe in doing so,” White said.
To understand the issues potentially involved in the decision-making process, White and a colleague at University of North Carolina–Pembroke are planning to conduct qualitative research interviews with counselors and educators they know to gain additional insights.
“In some ways, it may seem incongruent — a therapy session is where people should feel comfortable sharing everything, but is the counselor’s gender or sexuality something that is OK to be shared?” White asks.
In addition to this work on the self-disclosure practices of counselors and educators, White is pursuing other research projects in the LGBTQ+ space, including a focus on the perceptions toward transgender and queer counselors.
Contributed to the Press