What is it about?
LGBTQ+ students in South Korea often face discrimination at school, yet little is known about how prepared school counselors are to support them. We surveyed 259 Korean school counselors and identified five distinct groups based on their LGBTQ+ counseling skills, knowledge, attitudes, and advocacy activities. LGBTQ+-specific education and direct counseling experience were associated with these differences, while overall counseling experience was not.
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Why is it important?
Years of counseling experience alone may not prepare counselors to support LGBTQ+ students. Our findings highlight the value of LGBTQ+-specific education and direct counseling experience. They also show that counseling skills and advocacy go hand in hand, suggesting a need for training that prepares school counselors to both support individual students and address barriers within schools and communities.
Perspectives
This research began as my master's thesis at Seoul National University, drawing on my experiences as a school counselor and my involvement in LGBTQ+ advocacy in South Korea. Revisiting and further developing this work during my doctoral training has been a meaningful experience. I hope this study contributes to more inclusive school counseling practices and better support for LGBTQ+ students.
Gihun Im
University of Iowa
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Korean school counselors’ counseling competencies and advocacy activities for LGBTQ+ youth: a latent profile analysis, Current Psychology, October 2026, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/s12144-026-10221-6.
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