Counselors' Comfort with Sexuality, Attitudes towards Pornography, and Propensity to Assess and Treat Client Issues Related to Pornography Use

Clients present to counseling with clinical issues related to their pornography use. However, counselors report being undertrained and unprepared to work with clients regarding issues relating to pornography. Some researchers believe counselors' personal beliefs and attitudes about sex inhibit their ability to work with clients with issues related to sexuality. Therefore, we investigated counselors' comfort with discussing issues of sexuality, counselors' attitudes towards pornography, and their propensity to assess and treat client issues related to pornography use. We identified counselors' comfort with sexuality and attitudes towards pornography as mitigating factors in the assessment and treatment of client issues related to pornography use with a sample of mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists. We offer recommendations for counselors, counselor educators, and future research.