As licensed counselors, when we mandate that a particular type of counseling in not permissible we are breaking the Code of Ethics that we are agreed to when we joined the profession. I do not agree with legislation that prohibits a particular approach to helping clients explore their sexual feelings.

I have been an LPC for over twenty years. I see clients that share my personal values and clients that do not. I am bound by the ethical codes to help them explore their value system and not to impose my values. This can be a challenge and I continually have to evaluate myself to not impose my values but help them explore their own. When someone is feeling opposite attraction, it is ethical to help them explore these feelings. It is also ethical to help them explore their personal values related to these feelings. If they determine that they want to try to move beyond these feelings, then that is their choice. Ethical counselors accept clients where they are without judging them. This can be similiar to a person wanting to overcome and change marital unhappiness, stress or other unwanted feelings. Counselors use their training and objectivity to help clients grow in the direction they desire. There have been times when I have felt that a client's value system is so different from my own that I kindly and gently told them that they would be better served by another counselor will more similiar perspectives so that I would not be trying to impose my values on them.