BPS Lesbian & Gay Psychology Section 2003 Postgraduate Prize Winner Lesbian and gay trainees: The challenges of personal and professional integration

Abstract

This article explores how lesbian and gay clinical psychology trainees attempted to integrate their personal identity with their developing professional identity. Three gay and six lesbian trainees were recruited by snowball sampling and via a lesbian and gay student website. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and interview transcripts were analysed using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. A number of themes were identified relating to the dilemmas of personal and professional integration. Participants’ knowledge and experience of lesbian and gay issues created tensions between holding specialist knowledge and being a student, which were managed by monitoring disclosure. Further barriers for personal and professional integration included a lack of staff support and displays of anti-lesbian/gay sentiment by course staff, supervisors, lecturers and peers. These findings suggest that courses have yet to meet the British Psychological Society’s (2002) accreditation guidelines, which encourage diversity within trainee cohorts and the facilitation of personal and professional integration. Guidelines for course development and directions for future research are presented.