Accessing Counseling Services Where the Rainbow Doesn't Shine: A Heterosexism Audit Study

• Published in: Journal of homosexuality Vol. 68; no. 13; pp. 2246 - 2265
• Main Authors: Shin, Richard Q., Smith, Lance C., Vernay, Collin N., Welch, Jamie C., Sharma, Rajni, Eberhardt, Maeve
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Routledge 10.11.2021; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: audit study; Audits; Counseling; Counseling services; Discrimination; Fictitious; Help seeking behavior; Heterosexism; Heterosexuality; Homosexuality; implicit bias; LGB; Medical personnel; Mental health; mental health barriers; Mental health professionals; Mental health services; Sexual orientation; social justice; Therapists; heterosexism; LGB; implicit bias; discrimination; mental health barriers; audit study; social justice

Through a field experiment set among licensed therapists (N = 425), we found nuanced evidence of heterosexist discrimination at the entry point of mental health services for a fictitious White, presumably gay man seeking counseling. We called therapists in LGB-affirming and LGB-hostile states and le...