South Africa

Therapists can preemptively safeguard treatment by first identifying how,
in their own relationships, they define healthy, safe, and normal dynamics.

They can then develop an appreciation for the difference in how their clients
define these same concepts and engage in relationships. During this process it is
essential that professional counselors overtly understand conditioned ­negative
judgments and prejudices about relationships that are different from their own,
particularly with respect to defining safe, healthy, and normal dynamics.

In addition, we feel that professionals are ethically charged to correct
misinformation of professional colleagues and in the general population
when it pertains to alternative sexualities. To date little research exists on the
experience of therapists providing counseling services to the aforementioned
group.