The experiences of gay men in counselling

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to achieve a deeper understanding of what it is like for gay men to see a counsellor. Eight participants volunteered for the investigation. All had previous or concurrent counselling experience and used a self-referent identity label of "gay male." Participants ranged in age from 21 to over 50 at the time of data collection and all were able to provide a description of their experience in English. Data were gathered using an open-ended interview protocol and were analyzed using an integration of procedures for phenomenological data reduction outlined by Colaizzi (1978), Creswell (1998), Giorgi (1985), Moustakas (1994), Osborne (1990), and Patton (2002). Three categories (Antecedents, Moderating Variables, and Outcomes) and thirteen main themes emerged. Findings suggest that there are common elements among the needs of gay male clients that, if attended to, can improve the effectiveness with which service is provided to gay men.