The College Fix

When Missouri State University senior Emily Brooker refused to sign an advocacy letter supporting gay adoption for a class project, she did not know what ordeal would follow.

“I offered to do research or an alternate project instead, but my professor refused,” said Brooker. She appealed to the School of Social Work and the school sided with the professor.

Soon, the School of Social Work filed a grievance against her. An ethics committee consisting of her professors and the department questioned Brooker’s ability to work with gay clients, even though she had worked with gay clients as a case manager for the State of Missouri.

“I wrote a paper explaining how my beliefs and professional social work could go together,” she said, “but I was scolded for not changing my views.” She was asked to sign a contract with special stipulations just to stay in the program.

Brooker sued, and the university settled. The president suspended the professor, began an investigation into the School of Social Work, and agreed to pay for Brooker’s graduate school education.

“They seemed legitimately interested in making things right,” she said.

Still, her case highlights a controversial topic among mental health professions – is the belief that homosexuality is immoral a hindrance to ethical counseling?

David French of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) said that Brooker and two other students were penalized or kicked out of programs despite not doing anything objectionable in an actual counseling session. The other students were from Eastern Michigan University and Augusta State University.

Penalizing students for their beliefs at a state-controlled university is constitutionally wrong, French said.

“A set of core beliefs cannot be mandated by government officials,” he said.

Julea Ward from Eastern Michigan University, French said, got in trouble for referring a gay client to another counselor. The university may remove Ward from their program because she did not want to affirmatively counsel a gay client-even though her supervisor told her to refer. The case is currently working its way through Federal courts. French said that counselors are always allowed to refer to other counselors, and that is “exactly what the code of ethics requires.”

“Referrals are quite common in the counseling profession,” he added.

But Laurie Mintz, a professor of educational, school and counseling psychology at the University of Missouri College of Education, said it can be very hard for gays and lesbians to come out.

“If a counselor they trust tells them to see someone else, that’s actually harmful to the client,” she said.

“Our ethical code requires that we treat clients with the utmost respect and care when they come to us for help,” Mintz said. She helped develop a model statement for counseling psychologist training that urges self-examination for all students to make sure the student can work with people of different beliefs and identities.

Mintz said she had a student who said she thought gays and lesbians were sinful and that she could not see them in therapy.

“That’s not OK,” she said. “You can’t eliminate a whole class of people.”

Kathy Bieschke, a Professor of Counseling Psychology at Penn State University, has a major research interest in ensuring competent counseling for sexual minorities.

Bieschke said counseling students do not have to affirm sexual minorities, but must understand and address how their beliefs interfere with their ability to competently treat gay clients. She encourages students who have religious beliefs that compromise their ability to treat sexual minorities come to professors for support, and professors should be willing to give that support.

“Our job is to help you develop the skill and competencies to work with anyone,” she said.

But French believes many universities are going beyond ensuring professional competency to imposing beliefs.

“Schools are trying to indoctrinate their students into the views of the political left,” said French. “If we don’t oppose these policies, it will restrict access to a profession that literally touches millions of people.”

While a particular employer can require employees to counsel everyone and groups can state that requirement in their code of ethics, the government cannot mandate it through state-run universities or in the licensing process, he said.

“There’s a big difference between what private employers and government can do,” he said.

Mintz disagreed, saying that passing a student who did not follow the code of ethics would be like allowing a physician to graduate who would not say the Hippocratic oath.

“Our ethics code is what guides us,” she said, and following it is “an academic competency.”

She said that programs for counseling psychology should follow the American Counseling Association’s ethical guidelines. The guidelines state that “psychologists are aware of and respect cultural, individual, and role differences, including those based on…sexual orientation.”

She added that religiously affiliated schools, like Brigham Young University and Notre Dame University, also teach students to abide by ethical guidelines when counseling gays and lesbians.

Bieschke agreed that the code of ethics must be followed.

“While it is not the right of professors to impose their morals on students, it is our duty to make sure that people can follow the code of ethics,” she said.

She emphasized that it is not only students expressing moral judgment toward sexual minorities in class that must be examined for competency in dealing with diverse clients. Gay counseling students who express prejudice against conservative Christians should receive the same scrutiny, according to Bieschke.

“It’s all about doing what’s in the best interest of the client,” she said.

Daniel Walmer is a member of the Student Free Press Association.

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