Being a Gay or Lesbian Professional in a Psychiatric Hospital for Adolescents

Abstract

Differing styles and ranges of self-disclosure are highlighted through interviews with lesbian and gay clinical staff at an in-patient setting in the Midwest. Each staff, three men and one woman aged 44 to 62, is presented through a psychosocial history concerning religious, marital, and coming out issues. Participants are interviewed about their style and degree of disclosure of homosexuality to staff, clients, and family. The author concludes that degree of “coming out” correlates with positive adjustment to sexual orientation for the interviewees more than with fears about job loss or personal reprisal.