Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression in Social Work Practice: Working with Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People.

MANY SOCIAL workers and related human services professionals have had minimal preparation for serving gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) clients. Most social work professionals trained before the mid-1990s had no academic preparation for working with sexual minority populations, and many social workers trained since then have had minimal, if any, academic exposure to these populations. Thus, it is not uncommon to encounter even seasoned practitioners who perpetuate misinformation and negative bias in their services to GLBT clients. The purpose of this book is to help social work and human services students and practitioners to develop a theoretical and methodological knowledge base for understanding and working with sexual minority people. This first chapter serves as a basic introduction to the remainder of the book, providing a general foundation. The rest of the chapters will, in turn, examine particular topics in greater depth. This chapter will address some of the negative myths commonly associated with GLBT people. In addition, it examines the question of whether GLBT people constitute their own culture. The chapter establishes a foundation for social work values and ethics-based service to GLBT clients and presents a context for social work practice with GLBT people. Finally, it gives an overview of topics that are addressed in the book and ends with practice suggestions to help workers better serve GLBT clients.