[acb-hsp] Remediation That the Tolerant Left Won't Tolerate

[Jess K]

I couldn't agree more with this assessment.  This article is so clearly skewed that I'm really unsure of the purpose of posting it here.  The organization behind the article is pretty open about their bias, and I found the article posted on a site whose name says: Welcome to the Republic, The Premier Conservative Site on the Net.  The title of the article is clear enough.  I think the issue here is the word "affirmative".  I'm sure that those outside of the field assume it to mean that she had to be supportive of gay individuals.  Good cultural competence requires being able to treat people with an open mind and willingness to learn about things that we do not understand, but even within the field of therapy, many people could get tripped up over the phrase "gay Affirmative".  Ms. Ward did not have to be an advocate for the LGBT community.  However, she should, particularly if she chose to intern within a public setting, be able to support the client's goals and path.  It looks as though she did not even meet with the client and based her inability to work with him on past records.  I remember seeing something about this man seeking support for depression.  How presumptuous of her, if this is the case, to dismiss his case based on the assumption that she would have to support his homosexuality.  If this was a case of mild depression, it is not necessarily linked to his sexual orientation.  I am allowed to feel nervous about a new client whose background is vastly different from mine, but as the professional, it is my responsibility to acknowledge, assess and overcome any biases that deprive that client of treatment.  I may not *enjoy* that my clients with mental health concerns concurrently use drugs.  As a matter of fact, it can be incredibly frustrating some days.  Even so, it's my responsibility to help them work through whatever they choose to focus on while in treatment.  If I want to refer a client, I am asked to think about how my personal biases may be urging me to do this.  Am I transferring somebody because I lack the skills to help, or am I doing it due to a challenge, different viewpoint, etc?  I remember seeing some very adamant students who didn't believe that men should ever be in the childcare/stay at home parent role in a family.  These people openly made derogatory comments about gays, different ethnic groups, etc.  We had an older man who, after watching a video about adolescents with conduct disorder, stated that this is why there should be voluntary euthenasia for teenagers.  Thankfully, many of these students, in spite of GPA, were not granted advanced placement in the Masters program.  Cultural competence and diversity training are pretty basic tenants of "least harm" to clients as far as I can tell.  If fear and bias limit your ability to help others, extra training, at least to examine the ethical and therapeutic consequences of uninformed work, seems like a very small request to me.
 
For an article that does not so blatantly display bias regarding the case, see: 
http://bit.ly/q7LLpu
 

> From: ceverett at dslextreme.com
> To: acb-hsp at acb.org
> Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:23:06 -0700
> Subject: Re: [acb-hsp] Remediation That the Tolerant Left Won't Tolerate
> 
> This looks to be an attempt to "reverse think", a situation to the advantage
> of the conservative religious right. 
> 
> 
> Regards,
> Claude Everett
> "I am opposing a social order in which it is possible for one man who does
> absolutely nothing that is useful to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions
> of dollars, while millions of men and women who work all the days of their
> lives secure barely enough for a wretched existence." 
> Eugene Victor Debs 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of
> peter altschul
> Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2011 7:24 AM
> To: Acbhsp
> Subject: [acb-hsp] Remediation That the Tolerant Left Won't Tolerate
> 
> Remediation for those the tolerant left won't tolerate
> David Cortman
> In January 2009, Julea Ward, who is a Christian, was a graduate student in
> the counseling program at Eastern Michigan University. 
> She was nearing the end of the program and had accumulated a 3.91 GPA. Then
> she was expelled.
> Why? Well, EMU asked her to counsel a client in a manner that would have
> violated her Biblically-based faith and values. 
> Following standard profession practice, she asked her supervising professor
> whether it would be okay to reassign the client to a different counselor.
> EMU expelled her from the program for making this simple referral request,
> and because of the religious beliefs that motivated it.
> Unfortunately, media reports on Ward's lawsuit often claim that EMU
> expelled her for refusing to counsel gay clients. This is simply untrue.
> She asked for the referral because her religious beliefs prevent her from
> providing counseling on any non-marital sexual relationship. This means
> Ward would raise the same values conflict regardless of the sexual
> orientation of the client seeking such assistance.
> Put simply, Ward would raise the same conflict and seek a referral
> regardless of whether the client was homosexual and seeking counseling on a
> non-marital sexual relationship (which is the context in which her referral
> request arose) or if the client was heterosexual and seeking counseling on a
> non-marital sexual relationship. The "gay animus" angle often seen in media
> reports is dead wrong.
> It is also important to note that referrals, including those based on
> values conflicts, are common and accepted in the counseling profession. The
> code of ethics for the profession contains two provisions endorsing the
> practice of referring clients. Ward acted consistent with these provisions,
> and with the advice of her supervising professor, by having a client
> reassigned in a situation where she believed another counselor would be
> better suited to meet his needs. The profession is, after all, most
> concerned with serving the best interests of clients. And sometimes, a
> client's best interests are served by working with a different counselor.
> Rather than approving Ward's simple request to refer a single client, EMU
> initiated disciplinary proceedings against her. EMU also informed Ward that
> the only way she could remain in the counseling program was if she agreed to
> undergo a "remediation" 
> program aimed at changing her "belief system."
> Unsurprisingly, Ward declined the "remediation" program. And who would
> agree to such a thing? It is hard to imagine any student agreeing to change
> their beliefs as a condition to getting their degree.
> In addition to the Orwellian "remediation" program, the disciplinary
> proceedings also involved EMU professors putting Ward's religious beliefs on
> trial.
> For example, during Ward's final disciplinary hearing, Suzanne Dugger, one
> of EMU's counseling faculty, asked Ms. Ward whether she viewed her "brand
> of Christianity as superior" to other Christians who may disagree with her.
> And Perry Francis, another EMU faculty member, told Ward he was going to
> take her on a btheological boutb and then directly attacked her
> understanding and interpretation of scripture.
> Throughout these things, Ward remained steadfast, refusing to abandon her
> religious convictions or violate them as a condition to getting her degree.
> What is amazing about Ward's situation is EMU's harsh and drastic reaction
> to her request to refer a single client. Rather than honoring Ward's simple
> request (which, again, was consistent with the professional standards
> regarding referral), EMU expelled an academically stellar student and, in
> the process of doing so, targeted and attacked the religious beliefs that
> motivated her referral request and told her she had to change them to get
> her degree.
> Now, instead of being a Christian and a graduate student at EMU, Ward is
> but another Christian whom the tolerant left will not tolerate.
> David Cortman serves as senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense
> Fund at its Atlanta Regional Service Center in Georgia, where he heads
> litigation efforts to defend and reclaim the First Amendment rights of
> public school students across the nation. 
> Cortman joined ADF in 2005, and is admitted to the bar in Georgia, Florida,
> and the District of Columbia. He has practiced law since 1996 and graduated
> magna cum laude from the Regent University School of Law, where he earned
> his J.D.
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