Let’s talk about sex: Counsellors’ experiences of actively integrating sexuality into counselling practice

Abstract

Creating a bricolage of a narrative conceptual lens and thematic analysis of the data, this inquiry explored the experiences of three Canadian counsellors who actively integrated sexuality into counselling and aimed to add to the literature by answering the following question: What are the experiences of counsellors who actively integrate sexuality into their counselling practice? Two broad overarching stories emerged from the data: (a) counsellors’ practice of integrating sexuality into counselling (including themes of conceptualizing sexuality, nature of practice, barriers, and development) and (b) counsellors’ experiences of this practice (experiences, development, and observations of clients’ issues and experiences). The findings may help address gaps in sexuality counselling by encouraging counsellors’ comfort and competence through training. The study was limited by not investigating the experiences of counselling students or clients. Future research may evaluate the effectiveness of sexuality training of counselling students and practicing counsellors.