“Say More About That” Show Notes: Episode #30 – The bias against sex offenders
Jeff Guenther, MS, LPC on Sep 22, 2019 in Say More About That
Today, I talk to fellow therapist Taunya Gesner about her experience working with sexual offenders. We discuss what attracted her to this population and why she feels strongly about speaking up for them. We talk about therapist's automatic bias about the population. We dive into my bias about how there is a part of me that thinks sexual offenders are evil. (Spoiler alert, they're not all evil.) We discuss misconception the public has about them and how it's incredibly difficult to find a good job and adequate housing because of their record. We also dive into how some folks go down the path of becoming a sexual offender.
Questions and topics I discuss with Taunya in the episode:
- Why were you attracted to working with this population?
- The idea that it is okay and politically correct to discriminate against sex offenders.
- What we need to keep in mind in order to not discriminate against this population.
- Do you feel angry or upset when you hear what they’ve done? How do you handle that?
- What are some of the biggest misconceptions we have about sexual offenders?
- How do people end up going down this path?
- Who are the kinds of people who end up here?
- What is it like working with this population?
- Are there housing issues for this population?
- How do you use empathy to connect with these clients?
- How can a counselor get past their bias about sexual offenders?
- What’s the most challenging part about working with these clients? What’s most rewarding?
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