Below is the digest of my dissertaion on Gay and Lesbian graduate students in psychology. I did interviews with students about personal and professional development, homophobia and hererosexism, and their views on psychology. If you would like a copy of the whole thing, then click DIS.ZIP (the file is 78KB zipped, so you will need an "unzipping" program like PKZip). Also, if you plan to cite it in a paper, you need to reference it using the APA guidelines for referencing web documents

EXPERIENCES OF GAYS AND LESBIANS AS STUDENTS IN PSYCHOLOGY TRAINING PROGRAMS

Richard A. Niolon, B.S., M.S. (R)

A Digest Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Saint Louis University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

1997

DIGEST

Nine gay and lesbian graduate students from clinical and counseling psychology training programs were interviewed by telephone regarding their experiences in their training program, their view of their personal and professional development, and their suggestions for improving the training of graduate students.

All who self-identified as gay or lesbian prior to applying to graduate school screened their training programs. All raised concerns about being openly gay or lesbian and the consequences this decision would entail. However, all agreed that being closeted in graduate school carried numerous emotionally hazardous risks. Seven subjects recalled experiencing some form of discrimination in their interactions with students and faculty, both in and out of the classroom. All reported stressful interactions with fellow students, and most reported having to educate faculty and peers regarding the experiences, career options, and the lifestyle of gays and lesbians in order to make the environment adequately hospitable. Eight students recalled experiences of prejudice or discrimination outside of graduate school that caused distress in their personal lives; most believed that faculty were largely unaware of these issues.

Few participants had what they considered to be a mentor relationship with a faculty member. None reported that their program adequately covered gay and lesbian issues in its curriculum. Eight students raised concerns about the quality of clinical supervision they received. Three debated the issue of being openly gay or lesbian with gay or lesbian patients; three were open to patients as a general rule. Eight students commented upon difficulties conducting research on gay and lesbian issues, and the absence of knowledgeable and experienced faculty to guide such work.

Suggestions for the recruitment, training, and mentoring of gay and lesbian students are presented, as well as the experiences of the primary investigator in conducting this research.

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