Current Affairs Tennessee Gov signs dangerous bill to let counsellors turn awa

[stephaniec]

Tennessee Gov signs dangerous bill to let counsellors turn away LGBT patients

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2016/04/28/tennessee-gov-signs-dangerous-bill-to-let-counsellors-turn-away-lgbt-patients/

Pink News/By Joseph Patrick McCormick    04/16/2016

"The Governor of Tennessee has signed into law a bill which will allow licensed counsellors to turn away LGBT patients.

HB 1840 was signed into law today by Republican Governor Bill Haslam, who earlier this month vetoed an anti-trans 'bathroom bill'. "

[AnonyMs]

Completely the wrong way around. These people are clearly not fit to be counsellors and should have their licenses revoked.

What's worse is that the more there of of these people the less real councelors there will be, limiting the availability of counselling to people in need. There's not room in the market for an unlimited number of councelors.

[suzifrommd]

I oppose discrimination, but I also wonder whether bigoted counselors treating people with mental health issues might do more harm than good.

[SamanthaNJ]

Publicly shame those that turn the LGBT community away. Plus if they are turning us away it's probably best because they would never work in our best interest and get us where we need to be. Sigh, makes me so sad

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[Asche]

My question: how many counsellors (I assume they mean "therapists" and "counsellors" is UK-speak)  are there who want to refuse to counsel LGBT people?

I suspect that, like the bathroom bills, this bill is just a way for its sponsors to gain brownie points among their right-wing constituency by "solving" a "problem" that doesn't actually exist.

Besides which, it's news to me that therapists can't, in practice, refuse to treat anyone they don't want to deal with.  Indeed, AFAIK professional ethics requires that they decline to treat someone who presents issues that they can't (or aren't trained to) deal with in a professional manner.  (Not that that ever stopped the Zuckers and McHughs.)

[suzifrommd]

Indeed, AFAIK professional ethics requires that they decline to treat someone who presents issues that they can't (or aren't trained to) deal with in a professional manner.

Good point.