TL;DR Kem Younts made her homophobia clear to me when I was seeking treatment from her as a closeted queer, depressed 17 year old. This is straight up unethical and it's important to share.
I wish I could give this woman less than a single star. I went to see her for about a year's worth of sessions back when I was 17. Unfortunately, It isn't until now (5 years later) where I feel empowered enough to make this complaint. At the age of 17, I received my first mental health diagnosis for unipolar depression (more commonly known as clinical depression, the second most commonly treated mental illness in the US). Alongside complaints about her rather fossilized and monolithic approach to treatment, I would like to point out an instance of blatant homophobia in one of our sessions. This occurred around the time of proposition 8, and we were talking about it along with other current events at the time. Kem Younts, my practitioner at the time, made it clear how she felt about LGBT people, essentially stating that we can have our relationships but should call it something other than marriage. Mind you, she casually mentioned this to me (a closeted queer adolescent who was seeking treatment from her for depression). Given the fact that LGBT youths are disproportionately at risk for suicide, Kem Younts' comments were not only unethical, but harmful. I had not disclosed anything about my sexuality to her, and she made it blatantly clear that she was not a safe person to share such vulnerable information with. In social work, we are trained to check our biases at the door and to help within our scope of competence. Codes of Ethics across the helping profession (NASW, LPCA, APA just to name a few) all have common ground: DO NO HARM. How is making your homophobic views so clear to a closeted teen NOT causing harm? Luckily I am still here to share this experience. But this interaction alone is what deters people in vulnerable communities, like LGBT adolescents, from seeking the help that we need. How are you going to help people when you can't even keep your prejudice out of practice? Yes, you can say people are entitled to their own opinions. But as helping professionals, we are held to a higher standard because the profession demands it. Although this interaction was five years ago, sharing this experience is still super relevant today. Kem Younts (and other helping professionals reading this review), take this as an opportunity for reflection, growth, and professional and personal development. I would be happy to hear if you have since increased your competency and have caused minimal harm in your practice since this interaction. And if not, I implore you to figure out why you're in this profession. read more
