Sexual health is woven into the fabric of society and is "inherently related to many of the social and public health concerns and challenges in the United States today" (di Mauro, 1995, p.1). Despite the saliency of sexual health concerns in the public health arena, sexuality is not currently being adequately addressed in counseling and mental health training curriculum (Gray, House, & Eicken, 1995). This gap in sexual health content at the baccalaureate and master levels of clinical training was the focus of this dissertation study, which aimed to explore how clinical staff at a not-for-profit child and adolescent mental health service agency: (1) conceptualize sexual health, (2) characterize their own practices related to inclusion of sexual health considerations, and (3) respond to questions related to their general attitudes and knowledge of sexual health.

Research participants completed instruments that included a survey pertaining to staff attitudes and beliefs, a sexual knowledge questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire created by this researcher that included training, cultural values, family influences, and agency influences on decision making. Data was collected from individual participants at one point in time during departmental meetings. Clinicians were grouped and assessed by demographics. As an introduction to the dissertation project, a comprehensive history of sexual health is presented and importance to the field of counseling was discussed.