In South Korea, mental health research regarding homosexuality has tended to focus mostly on the psychological aftereffects thereof, such as depression and suicide. However, few homosexuals visit counseling centers to seek treatment due to counselors...
In South Korea, mental health research regarding homosexuality has tended to focus mostly on the psychological aftereffects thereof, such as depression and suicide. However, few homosexuals visit counseling centers to seek treatment due to counselors’ and therapists’ own personal biases regarding homosexuality. Research has specifically shown that many conservative and Christian counselors have a tendency to feel homophobia and are less likely to be able to fully concentrate on their homosexual clients during therapeutic sessions compared to their heterosexual clients. Thus, in order to investigate the perspectives and mindset of Christian counselors on homosexuals and homosexuality, this study will explore the homosexual counseling experiences of Christian counselors and examine the essential meaning of these experiences based on Amedeo Giorgi's Phenomenological Methodology.
The research data was collected from July to September 2014 through semi-structured interviews and e-mail correspondence with six heterosexual Christian counselors. The collected data was analyzed according to the four phases of Giorgi's Phenomenological Methodology, and through analysis of the meaning units, this study identified five categories, ten themes and thirty-two subject elements. Based on these results, this study produced the general structural description. The findings indicate that Christian counselors think that homosexuals are not only considered to be in the minority in society, but also that they are victims of negative perception. Interestingly, most of them do not think, from the perspective of their faith, that homosexuals are sinners. In spite of this, Christian counselors still wonder why those who consider themselves as being LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) cannot help choosing homosexuality as a lifestyle, and they believe that counseling can help homosexual clients and lead them to reconsider their sexuality. These attitudes are linked and related to homophobia and heterosexism. Therefore, this study suggests necessary improvements in counselor training, including checks to verify and eliminate any personal biases and prejudices that counselors may have against homosexuals – and homosexuality in general – in said training.