Culturally Competent Practice with Bisexual Individuals

Working with lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals requires clinical social workers to demonstrate cultural competency with these populations. Although there are many common issues across these identities, bisexual individuals experience unique challenges that differ from lesbian and gay individuals. Bisexuality is sometimes misunderstood by heterosexual as well as lesbian and gay individuals, leading to experiences of marginalization from multiple sources. Moreover, clinical social workers may incorrectly assume that the treatment needs of bisexual individuals are the same as lesbian and gay individuals. This paper utilizes qualitative interviews with 45 bisexual-identified people to illuminate five prominent issues in clinical practice with bisexual people. They are: (a) biphobia, (b) practitioner attitudes about bisexuality, (c) identity development, (d) social relationships, and (e) sexual health. Findings illuminate clinical practice strategies that will facilitate culturally competent social work practice with this population.