Perception and Experience of Sexual and Gender Minority Korean Youth in School Counseling

To comprehensively explore the school counseling experience of sexual and gender minority (SGM) youths in South Korea, we interviewed 14 SGM youths about their school counseling experience and the climate of their schools toward SGM. Results showed that a hostile school climate and the accessibility, confidentiality, trustworthiness, and LGBTQ competency of school counselors drove the reluctance of these youths to receive school counseling services. Implications for the role of school counseling services for SGM youths were discussed based on the findings of this work and the suggestions offered by the interviewed SGM youths.