Couple and Family Therapy Faculty Members' Level of Training in LGB Affirmative Therapy

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the training that Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) faculty members have received on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) affirmative therapy. The sample for this study included 65 faculty members from CFT programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education. The on-line data collection for this study included two Likert scale items and one open-ended question. In particular the results suggest that 45.6% of participants reported receiving some LGB affirmative therapy training. Additionally, the thematic analysis revealed six categories: (1) Negligible Training, (2) Informal Training, (3) Coursework, (4) Topic-Driven Training, (5) Tools for Training, and (6) Experience. The findings of this study provided crucial implications for both CFT graduate training programs as well as current CFT faculty members, such as including LGB topics throughout CFT program curricula and faculty members attending sessions at conferences or continuing education workshops on LGB topics.