How could a homophobe even get approved to be a counsellor? That's beyond me.

A counselor is supposed to be open, caring, helpful, and loving to everyone.

My music teacher refused to let me and my boyfriend work in pairs during the lesson. We asked him why and he said I will tell u afterwards. So after the lesson he said that he felt uncomfortable because we’re gay. I told him that we’re not out to anyone yet so don’t mention it to the class and the next week he said in front of the entire class “Ben and Conner you two can not work together. I told you last week!” Then everyone looked at us and he said “does anyone feel comfortable swapping partners. Preferably a girl so I know nothing is going to happen between them”. I was so mad that I stormed out the class and when he came to talk to me he said “It’s not my fault your gay. I’m just trying to protect the other students”. He’s the worst teacher ever. I think all homophobic people just need a little sense in there lives! I’m 14, what did he expect me to do!?

The "counsellor" needs therapy to treat his own homophobia!

That "therapist" ought to have his license revoked!

there are shitty counselors here in canada too. a therapist i saw after my first suicide attempt asked me why i only took a dozen of my pills instead of the whole bottle. another i saw for abuse at home tried to excuse it as 'boys will be boys'. there are people in this profession who should not have this job and do more harm than good. i'm glad that despite a homophobic counselor, you found your own inner strength. you're amazing. keep on keeping on.

Should have gotten that idiot fired. Not everyone is as strong as you... that 'counselor' could do some serious damage.

I've never been bullied for being gay, I have no idea what it's like. It's upsetting watching these as I know how fortunate I am

All the counseling, therapeutic, psychological, and psychiatric associations agree that sexual orientation is not changeable. This is part of their ethical code. Therefore, any counselor that tells you what this one did should be reported to their professional association and the association will take away their credentials. Imagine how much damage this "counselor" has done through the years.

I hope that incompetent counselor is no longer there!

I am in school to be a counselor. This makes me so upset. Those are people who should not be counselors, doctors, nurses, and caregivers. I am so glad this man stood up to the counselor and tried to get it to not happen again. Proud of you.

"The idea that somebody told me that there was something wrong with me or sick about me was more than her Italian temper could take..." Them Italians are feisty! My friend's mom is from Sicily and I can't imagine what would happen if my friend told her this...

The 'counsellor' needs to be fired and advised to back for more 'proper' schooling!

I am so happy that you knew that there is NOTHING wrong with being gay. Imagen some kid actually believing the counselor.. D:

Powerful story, but it's easy to see you're a strong person. Glad to hear you're happily open. Also, you're sinfully gorgeous.

I had the same problem with my stomach hurting all the time. Its from holding in all of the shame and guilt that people put on us. Only defending our dignity gets rid of it.

Fun fact: did you know that homosexuality exists in 43 different species?

Please just remember that not all counselors are that unskillful! Good for you for taking care of yourself in such a vulnerable situation!

I'm gay. I've seen a therapist and the only thing they're ever interested in asking me is if/when I was raped or molested. I've never been raped or molested but that's what they expect to hear. It's sad and why I don't go to any type of counseling. People cannot keep their personal opinions to themselves even on a professional level.

More power to you. You are a gutsy guy!

This is the cutest guy ever. He has a very mysterious sex appeal big time. Such an innocent easy going demeanor. And he has a very smart mama!

NEVER EVER hide who you are!!!! Congratulations on having the courage to come out 100%!!!!

Story aside, this guy looks great in that t-shirt.

I'm gay and I'm proud! Shout it out and shout it loud!

The lgbtq 🏳️‍🌈 community is probably one of the nicest community there is

Sadly, we see another example where those caught up in the sin of homophobia are abusers. While these strident, open homophobes demand tolerance from decent people, is it really appropriate to allow them in positions where they can harm vulnerable patients and maybe even push them to suicide? Shouldn't we be trying to cure the homophobe before he/she harms others?

Bravo ! I am so glad you shared this. There are so many ignorant people out there.. and uneducated counselors.

I'm so pleased you rose above the bad counselling advice. Good for you! Bad counselling advice is sadly a very common problem. I have worked in a small provincial university, and sometimes I think that no counselling at all is better than poor counselling. Good luck, and keep well.

Good for you for standing up for yourself, and good for you for coming out, and good for your mother for standing by you! I appreciate the courage it takes for somebody to come out.

...he's pretty cute. Just saying lol

A lovely, sensitive man. I'd be proud to be his mother

That "counselor" is a disgrace to his profession and should be fired!

The counselor should have immediately been investigated and terminated by the university and also been reported to the appropriate state professional practice board for investigation and possible sanctioning. Some state legislators and governors especially in “trifecta states” (where both legislative bodies and the executive branch are controlled by the same party - and it’s not the one that begins with a d) have been quietly backtracking on holding up and fully enforcing professional standards and have threatened implicitly, and sometimes explicitly, other state offices and agencies that would normally do so in recent years. The professional standards boards must be held accountable and kept public and transparent and the GLBT community must be vigilant on this in all 50 states along with all of our allies. The same dynamic is also happening with women’s healthcare, contraception services, HIV care and state of the art STI/HIV prevention practice and health and mental health services for low income people. Even medical.schools have dropped basic clinical skill training in human sexuality and assessment of clinical interviewing skills related to best practices and standards of care in patient care delivery.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being homosexual

Well done. A lot of people don't have your inner strength and clarity. Thanks for posting, every message we can send to people who are struggling in doubt helps.

That counselor needed to be reported. He has no business counseling anyone.

As a parent ally (I guess that's what I am), this absolutely breaks my heart.

His counsellor was anything but qualified to counsel. Shameful! And I am so happy that Nephi had the confidence to call the so-called counsellor on his ignorance and prejudice.

Your mom is a hero. Thank god you have her support AND her defiance.

Absolutely appalling. Just think how many people who aren't as able to stand up for themselves this "counselor" will have told the same thing to, and believed it. It's disgusting.

That counselor needs to have their license taken away. What a POS. Kudos to this gentleman for being civil. I wouldnt.

REPORT THAT COUNSELOR!!!!! That is 100% an ethical violation !!! He should lose his license !!!!!!!!!!!

I'm glad you were strong enough not to take that shit from him specially during such vulnerable times. Amazing!

who else came here cause the guy was cute?

The moment I heard Tennessee....

aahh, lad, I am proud of you for standing up to the councillor, You clearly are a man who wasn't raised with violence, or would be a violent personality, You are amazing

What an awesome guy. We need more people like you. Thank you for sharing.

VERY PROUD OF YOU!! MUCH LOVE*

Thank you for sharing your story.

That particular therapist should be struck off and barred from practicing! I am glad you got angry with this unprofessional and unethical person. I applaud your mother for her support of you - a great mother and a great woman!

Excellent story for many to hear. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Nephi, thank you for sharing your story.

Good for you for standing up to her.

Thank you Nephi. You are alight in the world that will help many young people find that they are okay as gay people. It's examples like you that light the path for those to follow. I'm 65 and gay and have been all my life. I wish I had been able to listen to you when I was growing up in the mountains of N.C. in the 60's. You would have made my coming out so much easier. Luckily at 21, my parents brought me out of the closet with a lot of love and understanding. Bravo to you Nephi for sharing your story with us all.

I'm so glad that your mom was on your side! That's a very sweet twist on a rather bitter beginning.

Wow! Thank you for setting things "straight".

Wonderful. So brave of you. Congrats

Professional counsellors (and I am one of them) must set aside their own values when counselling others. It is never about what the counsellor approves of or not. It is always about the clients and from their own perspective. It is unprofessional to impose directly or indirectly one's views on the often vulnerable people who come to us to seek help. I would have asked Nephi what it feels like to be himself. I would have been interested to know about the strengths and challenges in his life. The main focus initially would have been "who is Nephi?" and from his own perspective, untainted by the pressures of others. The counselling room is supposed to be a safe space....

Did you guys know on the "God's not dead" movie in the "real life stories" it actually features this in there and it defends the therapist🙄 no Joke

Amazing response.

Your perfect just the way you are !

What if his counsel was trying to provoke him to be angry instead of being scared in order for him to better accept himself? I'm just saying.

Very courageous young man. Well done and well said. In the USA the American Psychology Association has said the being gay is not a disorder or deviant behavior. This has scared the hell out of many homophobes.

I'm proud of you! (And proud of your momma too!)

Tennessee southern gentleman. Proud we're fellow Tennessee peeps.... be blessed sir

Your bravery is inspiring to say the least.

My music teacher in high school (straight) knew from day one that I was gay; from the beginning he made me a section leader.

If your conselor tells you crap like that, ditch him and get a new one.

he is so handsome...good on him for coming out..dude you are great

I do hope you reported that so called Counsellor to their governing body. They should have been struck off but I suspect they were not even a qualified Counsellor. I'm happy to hear you had the strength to get up and leave that session.

There is nothing wrong with you!! Thanks for sharing your truth! ♥️♥️♥️

His biggest challenge was not coming out per se, but coming out in Tennessee.

Omg this touch home so hard

How can someone be a "counsellor" and be that hateful to the people?

That councillor thought he'd be counselling the gay outta those kids, but he was the one getting counciled!

WOW such a goodlooking guy. Seems to have a genuine good heart.

I live not far from Murfreesboro. This area is really difficult for anyone who isn't a straight white Christian. I really hope whoever the "counselor" was (that's in quotation marks because clearly this person didn't know how to provide counseling) had it made clear to them exactly how wrong and inappropriate their comments were. To the guy in the video; you're not alone. There are a lot of other folks who don't fit the mold in our area. I hope things started looking up for you after you came out. 💜

love this!

I bet I spoke to the same homophobic counselor at MTSU back in the late nineties. Good on you for speaking up to him. I just didn't go back to see him again.

That college "counselor" should have lost his job

That's so awful tho, like generally people who go to are councellor are vulnerable & need help - imagne you worked up your courage, smallowed your pride & opened up to that person and they they judge & lecture you like, what a betrayal. Still, it's nice to see that this guy was still able to turn that awful situation into an opportunity for growth.

You are lovely and fierce sweetheart. I'm so proud of you being proud. Live your lovely life baby!!

GOOD FOR YOU

Yooo, thats crazy Im from Murfreesboro too😱

Thank you for sharing. There are a lot of counselors who operate from this perspective. It’s illegal in Canada and needs to be outlawed in the US too.

I have only just watched this now - what an awesome, inspiring person this guy is - I hope he has remained a strong advocate for LGBTIQ+ community, particularly the youth for sure!

Living in a repressive society is depressing.

Such a delicate constitution; glad you're better.

Nephi, you are both brave and beautiful. CELEBRATE YOU!!!

Any counselor with this outlook and/or reaction has no business counseling anyone and especially there is no place for this mentality in the educational system of theUSA in the 21st century. I would report the person by name to the state department of Education of Tennessee and to the American Board of psychiatric medecine.

the counselor was not being consistent with the APA. I would suggest filing a complaint with them as they may be able to address this.

heyyyyyy murfreesboro represent! (ok but also i go to that university and i do NOT advocate going to that counseling center)

I'm sure that there's studies that prove that a majority of gay people come from abusive households, but to me that doesn't prove that they turned gay because of the abuse. Maybe, they were abused BECAUSE they're gay.. But that conclusion can only be made if you don't have a homophobic bias.

I once met a young psychiatric student who was top of his class, working with me over the Summer as an Intern. He was overtly homophobic and yet he was due to become a psychiatrist. Can you imagine how he would have counselled a patient who was also homosexual? I was shocked by his attitude. This also happened in liberal minded Canada folks!

The therapist should be called out by name

Bless you Son.

Thanks for sharing your story and experience. It seems that there are a lot of people not just religious who have a hard time accepting others sexuality. A part of sexual exploration is understanding self and why am I attracted to this or that. That was the positive things within it. There were things that I learned I liked that others found hard to deal with and my attitude was don't like it.. it's not for you. Why though should it be deemed unacceptable for me. It wasn't sex that was to hurt people.

Being gay is not a sickness perhaps it's a choice or something in the blood line. Personally i ang happy for who I am and I'm gay

Whoever finds you Nephi.......will find someone with a heart.......we are what we are......God will be with us. You are a great young man

The counselor was right in his Comment if not his method. He saw a strength in this young man that Nephi did not see in himself. I bet that openly confronting the therapist with the exact words he really needed to hear. He would not have listened to the therapist but standing up for himself helped him break through the shell he was hiding under. He gained the strength to come out and tell his parents. I know a ton of people will openly disagree with me but I will say sometimes this form of shock therapy works.