Gender Identity

Anna is a counselor at a community counseling center who has strong religious beliefs. She is very open about her beliefs, and even includes it in her professional disclosure on the company’s website. The intake department assigned her to work with Sofia.

Sofia is a 35-year-old transgender woman. She identifies as gay and has been in a committed relationship with Rosa for 10 years. Sofia and Rosa are planning to get married in the coming year. For the past two months, Sofia has been experiencing irritability, low energy, and poor sleep. She frequently gets in arguments with Rosa. She is seeking counseling to help alleviate her symptoms, hoping this will also improve her relationship with Rosa.

Anna agrees that counseling can help Sofia with the issues she would like to address, but she also believes that her relationship with Rosa is an issue that needs to be addressed. As Anna sees it, a healthy relationship, especially a marriage, must be between a man and a woman. She believes that Sofia should re-examine her gender identity and sexual orientation. Sofia has stated that she knows she is gay and is comfortable and proud to be a transgender female.

Case Study 2 Questions

· Do you think sexual orientation is Sofia’s primary counseling issue? What about gender identity? Explain your answer.

· What evidence of counselor bias exists in the case study? What AMCD competencies might be useful to consider?

· Because of Anna’s values and strong religious beliefs, should Sofia be referred to another professional? Explain your rationale and state why the recommended action would make Anna an effective cultural counselor.

· As a member of the case consultation team, what ethical guidelines might you refer to when providing feedback on the counselor’s assumptions about the client’s presenting problems?