Perception of Freshmen and Seniors of Psychological Counseling Guidance Department Towards Homosexuality in Yeditepe University
Burcin Hasanoglu
Emel Ulukaya
Inst. Aysen KOSE SIRIN
Introduction
In society, it has been considered that relationship only between men and women is the most appropriate and that is called heterosexuality.
However, there is another sexual orientation called “Homosexuality”. Homosexuality, according to ashastd.org (2012), is defined as one’s sexual orientation such as enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual feelings to other people of the same sex. Homosexuality is not something new to the history or to the society. In the website of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2011), it is stated that it is possible to find plenty of materials from ancient Greece relevant to issues of sexuality, ranging from dialogues of Plato, such as the Symposium, to plays by Aristophanes, and Greek artwork and vases and to be more specific there were some persons who were noted for their exclusive interests in persons of one gender. For example, Alexander the Great and the founder of Stoicism, Zeno of Citium, were known for their exclusive interest in boys and other men. It has always existed.
At first, as stated in aglp.org (2007), homosexuality was officially classified as a mental disorder in the APA's first Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-1) in 1952. But in the DSM-IV, homosexuality was not counted as one of the psychiatric disorders (Bower, H. 2001). Although, now homosexuality is not defined as a disorder, there are some organizations such as Exodus Global Alliance (n.d) believe that is an illness which needs to be treated and believes that youth today face an enormous amount of confusion and ambiguity surrounding their sexual identity that include dealing with such issues as homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism. Exodus is committed to equipping and encouraging Christian youth to live a life consistent with biblical truth (Exodus Global Alliance ,n.d). They believe that God created us with gender identities as men and women and the biblical expression for sexuality is between a man and a woman who are married to one another. Alan P. Medinger who is the author of the article, “Homosexuality and the Truth: Is It Natural and Normal?” on the on the website of Exodus Global Alliance postulates that if homosexuality is prenatally determined it is clear that it is a disorder. He says that homosexuality represents a tendency to want to use body parts for some purpose. The penis and the vagina are certainly constructed for male-female intercourse and two men or two women cannot reproduce, therefore, homosexuality is a condition that, in a fundamental way, is contrary to nature (Medinger, 2003)
Depending on the data and perceptions about homosexuality mentioned above, we assume that this study is of importance (significance of the study) to anyone in the society. To be more specific, we, as the prospective psychological counselors and guides, are bound to see diverse clients such as homosexual clients. As prospective counselors, we neither desire homosexuals to be regarded as “the others” or they should consider their sexual orientation as something “to hide” or “something they should be secretive about”.
Homosexuality is one of the parts of the diverse society. For that reason homosexuality is an important issue to discuss for us and helps us to understand, consider and recall some norms and ethics to follow. One of these norms is “Working with the awareness of the impact of the stereotyping and unwanted discrimination (e.g. biases based on age, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation) and guarding the individual rights and personal dignity of the client in the counseling relationship (NBCC, 2005). American Mental Health Counselors Association also states in Code of Ethics in 2000 revision that mental health counselors do not condone or engage in any discrimination based on age, color, culture, disability, ethnic group, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, marital status or socioeconomic status. Through awareness of the negative impact of both racial and sexual stereotyping and discrimination, the member strives to ensure the individual rights and personal dignity of the client in the counseling relationship; mental health counselors will actively attempt to understand the diverse cultural backgrounds of the clients with whom they work. When there is a conflict between the client's goals, identity and/or values and those of the mental health counselor, a referral to an appropriate colleague must be (AMHCA, 2000).
By taking all the aforementioned information as a base, the purpose of this study is to see how homosexuality is perceived amongst prospective psychological counselors and guides who are freshmen and seniors in Yeditepe University. To be more specific we aimed to learn a) What is the difference between freshmen and seniors’ defining what homosexuality is, b) What is the difference between their perception of causes of homosexuality and their theoretical knowledge, c) How do they differ on accepting homosexual clients, d)How they differ on normalizing homosexuality. In this study, our approach is Humanistic approach and as for homosexual clients, we stand for the idea of “Unconditional Acceptance in Psychological Counseling and Guidance” and we emphasize this theory in this profession.
Literature Review
What Causes Homosexuality?
According to Family Research Council founded 1983, there are two main theories as to what causes homosexual attractions One of them is essentially dictated by genetic and or biological factors—put simply, that people are “born gay.” And the other one is primarily as a result of psychological and environmental influences and early experiences.
These two theories are supported by some different researchers such as Wardell Pomeroy who is the colleague of Dr. Kinsey. W. Pomeroy reports that after his studies with 450 homosexuals, he found out that homosexuality was not an inherited abnormality, therefore it could be cured. On the other hand some researches claim that the sexual preferences and behavior of homosexuals may be dictated by the structure of the brain. Former Salk Institute researcher Simon LeVay studied the brains of cadavers, including 18 men known to have been homosexual and one known to have been bisexual. He compared them with the brains of another 16 men and six women whom he presumed to have been heterosexual. He claimed to find out that sexual orientation has a biological substrate at least in men, because INAH 3 was more than twice as large in the heterosexual men as in the women and it was also, however, more than twice as large in the heterosexual men as in the homosexual men. (LeVay, 1991) But Levay has some weaknesses in his study. One of them was his assumption including that they were all heterosexual, even though a number of the allegedly “heterosexual” subjects had died of AIDS, a disease that remains far more common among homosexual men than among heterosexuals: “Sixteen subjects were presumed to be heterosexual men: six of these subjects died of AIDS and ten of other causes (LeVay, 1991). A geneticist, Dean Hamer of the National Cancer Institute who never claimed to have found a gene that inevitably determines that a person will be homosexual. Rather, he claimed to have located a genetic component to some instances of male homosexuality. When Hamer interviewed the families who have more than one homosexual son, he found that a significantly larger number had a maternal uncle or a maternal aunt’s son who was also homosexual. Finding homosexual brothers who had homosexual maternal uncles would indicate that the gene determining homosexuality was transmitted through the mother’s family line.After Hamer studied 40 pairs of brothers who were homosexual, Hamer hypothesized that a certain genetic marker on the X chromosome was at least partially responsible for their homosexuality. Since men have an X and a Y chromosome, and they inherit their X chromosome from their mothers, Hamer theorized that the mother may be the carrier of the gene determining homosexuality in their sons. Homosexual behavior would not be manifested in the mothers’ lives, but they would pass that gene on to their sons (FRC. Org, n.d.) .On the other hand Hamer did not claim that homosexuality is not directly inherited and could not ne explained by the presence of this gene marker, because there were a substantial number of families in which lesbians and gays whose homosexuality were paternally related were present.
Another theory poses that homosexuality is the result of a deficiency of male sex hormones in male homosexuals and, conversely, excessive levels of testosterone in lesbians and that was repeatedly raised from the 1940s through the late 1970s. To prove that Bern who is the author of Exotic Becomes Erotic: A Developmental Theory of Sexual Orientation explains that by reasoning from research on rats it has been hypnotized that human males who are given substantially lower average levels of testosterone and human females who are also given higher levels of testosterone will be predisposed toward homosexual orientation in adult life. However, it was questionable to compare hormonal levels in rats with human. To sum up, according to Byne and Parsons data pertaining to possible neurochemical differences between homosexual and heterosexual individual are lacking. Byne and Parsons also conclude that temperamental and personality traits interact with the familial and social milieu as the individual’s sexuality emerges.
Another theory is that: Do upbringing, experience, and the social environment contribute to the development of homosexuality? A study conducted in 1969 in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology concluded that there are not only inner biological and emotional factors, parental and familial surroundings, social and cultural circumstances; but also varied pressures and expectations shift as the child grows after they are born. Ralph R. Greenson, clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA offered this developmental theory: The male child must replace his mother with his father to attain a healthy sense of maleness. He believes that this step of development is responsible for male children’s having certain special problems concerning gender identity. It is also stated that parents may also contribute to sexual orientation of the children. Freud (1916) in his Archives of Sexual Behavior said that homosexuals’ mothers extremely love whereas their fathers are retiring and absent. Irving Bieber who conducted a study which is still considered a landmark in the field stated that regarding the findings of the study any son exposed to parental combination, which consists of close-binding, intimate mother and a detached father, will become homosexual or develop severe homosexual problems.
A study in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy examined past sexual experiences, sexual thoughts of 35 men who were sexually abused during their childhood and found that men with a history of homosexual child abuse were attracted to homosexual individuals and children.
The role of personal choice has an effect on becoming homosexual. Ben notes that some women choose to have heterosexual orientation due to social or political reasons which are the centers of their lives. Consequently, this results in not seeking out men for sexual or romantic relationship instead they develop erotic ties with women and they self- identify themselves as lesbians or bisexuals. Byne and Parsons also explain that sexual orientation is thought to be shaped and reshaped by the choices that are made because of changing circumstances in one’s life and enormous social and cultural pressures.
From the Point of View of Counselors and Homosexuals
As stated in a journal by Rudolph (1988), survey and anecdotal literature reveal that there is often little satisfaction or therapeutic success for the gay clients in counseling and this dissatisfaction centers on counselors’ lack of understanding, preconceived about homosexuality. Consequently, in the same journal, it is emphasized that this negating sentiment that counseling personnel has can only exert a counterproductive influence on the quality of the therapeutic experiences of gay clients. This can create more problems and worsen the existing one within the gay clients. As a solution, in this journal Rudolph (1988) implies that if the counselors wish to work with homosexual clients, they should be cognizant of their attitudes towards homosexual persons or they should choose not to work with gay clients by default, not to be too confident in the thought of thinking of themselves as relatively tolerant or open-minded about this issue that is more complicated and elusive than it seems.
Carroll, Lynne, Gilroy, Paula (2001 as cited in Allison, Crawford, Echemendia, Robinson, and Knepp (1994)) state in Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education & Development that regarding counseling trainees it was found that only 34% of psychology graduates reported the availability of any diversity course during their graduate training and they noted very low levels of perceived competence among psychology graduates regarding their ability to provide services to gay, lesbian, bisexual, physically challenged, and ethnic minority populations. In the same resource, in Palma’s (1996) study of counselor trainees' attitudes toward ethnic and nonethnic minorities, counseling students held positive attitudes toward ethnic minorities and somewhat negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. In their survey of graduate counseling students, Phillips and Fischer (1998) reported that the majority judged their coursework in gay, lesbian, and bisexual issues to be inadequate. Consequently, in a way, we may conclude that some counselors may develop negative attitude towards gay and lesbians which have a counterproductive influence on the quality of the therapeutic experiences of gay clients as stated above. Inadequate training in homosexuality as part of the course and the training leaves the counselors incompetent and does not let them function fully as they are expected to be. To sum up, education plays a major and prominent role in serving homosexual clients in a complete way.
Theoretical Framework
In this study, we believe that homosexual clients must not be treated with preconceived ideas regarding their sexual orientation. We strongly believe that counselors should not discriminate people as “straight” and “perverted” and then approach them accordingly. We, as prospective counselors, should stick to the ethical principle that is as stated on the website of American Psychological Association (APA) in Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct:
Psychologists respect the dignity and worth of all people. Psychologists are aware of and respect cultural, individual and role differences, including those based on age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language and socioeconomic status and consider these factors when working with members of such groups. Psychologists try to eliminate the effect on their work of biases based on those factors, and they do not knowingly participate in or condone activities of others based upon such prejudices.
As stated here, we should focus on the issue(s) that homosexual clients want to talk about, not the differences we observe in them. Our aim is to welcome the homosexual clients as the way they are and strive to help them as same as we do for heterosexual clients. For that reason, we want to approach our clients basing the Humanistic Approach founder of which is Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. By this approach they believe that, especially Rogers, a healthy individual will tend to see congruence between their sense of who they are (self) and who they feel they should be (ideal self). While no one tends to experience perfect congruence at all times, the relative degree of congruence is an indicator of health (ryerson.ca, n.d.). Another point that Roger emphasizes is accepting the client(s) as innately worthwhile that is also called Unconditional Positive Regard. With this approach, client(s) will be able to disclose themselves, get rid of the feeling of unworthiness and stopping holding onto negative aspects of the self. Non-Judgmental Attitude is, as stated on the website of allpsych.com (2011), the way therapist’s never passing judgment on the individual. If we approach the client(s) in judging manner, we are more likely to prevent disclosure and will not be able to discover the issue(s) that we try extract from the client.
Roger’s approach is similar that of an prominent philosopher named Mevlana who , as stated by Tekin (n.d.), subscribes to the idea of accepting people as the way they are no matter where they come from and no matter what they believe in, and treating people equally.
Methodology
This research is a qualitative research and we ask the question “how”. To get answers for these questions in the best way, the interview was used as the data collection method. Interview has no validity, on the other hand it has been assumed to be an invaluable resource for providing us with in-depth information regarding students’ perception of homosexuality. As the data analysis method line-by-line coding was used.
For this study, 4 freshmen and 4 seniors from Yeditepe University volunteered to participate and were interviewed for 35 minutes to understand how they perceive homosexuality.
Specific research questions to be explored are as follows:
a) What is the difference between freshmen and seniors’ defining what homosexuality is?
b) What is the difference between their perception of reasons of homosexuality and their theoretical knowledge?
c) How do they differ in accepting homosexual clients?
Aslında öyle olmasa daha iyi olur diye düşünürdüm. Ama öyle olduğu için de bu saatten sonra yapacak bir şey yok. Onu olduğu gibi kabul etmeye çalışırdım.
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İnsan kendisiyle ilgili düşününce farklı oluyor
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Bu kadar yakınımdaydın ben nasıl fark etmedim dfalan.
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Kabullenmekte de zorluk yaşarım.
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çocuğum için onun erkeksi ya da kadınsı yapıda olması için, o yönde olması için öncelikle verilmesi gereken eğitimi veririm
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bu ergenlikteki kimlik bunalımına mı denk geliyor, bunu bu kadar destekleyici mi olmak lazım burada
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Ama bunu danışanda görmek farklı bir şey kendi yakınında görmek farklı bir şey
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THE NORMALIZATION of HOMOSEXUALITY
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CONCLUSION
As researchers, we made a study for Seminar Course. After the interviews about the perceptions of freshmen and seniors of Psychological Guidance and Counseling Department at Yeditepe University we have strong findings.
It can be said that Psychological Guidance and Counseling students do not have enough information about homosexuality. They did not have any courses covering that issue. The curriculums should include courses about homosexuality and sexuality as itself. Counselors may have different clients. The clients may have different sexual choices, religions, and nationalities. For this reason counselors should be equipped with every topic about human nature. Also, counselor students we interviewed defined homosexuality like any other person on the street. If they get more education and training about serving diverse clients such as homosexual clients, the counselor will increase their chance to see and help more clients.
Another point, as we researchers we can advice against making more academic research about homosexuality. We believe that more researches must be conducted to understand this phenomenon and this must be done in an objective manner.
The last comment is that counselor students we interviewed did not internalize the ethical rules. They claimed that they could accept homosexual clients, but they could not easily say they could accept their relatives’ or children’s homosexuality which is a dilemma in itself. We can understand that they can not see all people equally.
References
AMHCA. (2000). Code of Ethics of the American Mental Health Counselors Association. Retrieved from http://www.amhca.org/assets/
American Social Health Association (ASHA).(2012). LGBTQ. Retrieved April 3, 2012,from http://www.ashastd.org/sexual_
American Psychological Association (APA). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Retrieved June 3, 2012 from http://www.apa.org/ethics/
Association of Gay and Lesbians Psychiatrists (AGLP). Retrieved April 3, 2012, from http://www.aglp.org/gap/1_
Bower, H. (2001). The Gender Identity Disorder in the DSM-IV Classification: A Critical Evaluation. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 35(1), 1-8.
Retrieved April 3, 2012, from http://web.ebscohost.com/
Carroll, L. J. (2001). Teaching "Outside the Box": Incorporating Queer Theory in Counselor Education. Journal Of Humanistic Counseling, Education & Development, 40(1), 49-58. Retrieved April 3, 2012, from http://web.ebscohost.com.
Exodus Global Alliance (n.d). Conference Information: Homosexuality & Youth Retrieved April 3, 2012, from http://www.
Family Research Council Organization (FRC).What Causes Homosexuality. (n.d.) Retrieved. April 3, 2012 from http://downloads.frc.org/EF/
Medinger, Alan P.(2003). Homosexuality and the Truth: Is It Natural and Normal. Retrieved June 3, 2012, from http://www.
National Board for Certified Counselor (NBCC),(2005). Retrieved April 3, 2012, from http://www.nbcc.org/Assets/
Personality Synopsis.(2011). Humanistic Theory. The Person-Centered Approach Retrieved June 3, 2012 from http://allpsych.com/
Pickett, Brent, "Homosexuality", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2011 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/
Rudolph, J. (1988). Counselors' Attitudes toward Homosexuality: A Selective Review of the Literature. Journal of Counseling & Development, 67(3), 165. Retrieved April 3, 2012 from http://web.ebscohost.com.
The Humanistic Approach.(n.d.). Carl Rogers.Retrieved April 3, 2012 from http://www.ryerson.ca/~
Tekin, M.(n.d.).Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi’s Understandings of Human and Society. Retrieved April 3, 2012 from http://www.google.com.tr/url?
Appendixes
For the interview, these questions were used:
1. Are you studying in this department on your own wish?
2. Are you familiar with the term of “Unconditional acceptance”?
3. What do you think about homosexuality?
4. What do you think about homosexuals (Gays and lesbians)?
5. Would you accept as a client if you happen to be offered a homosexual client?
6. Some probing questions related to the question above for further data.
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