ABSTRACT
When counselors respond to the language topic on the background information check list, their comments range from one extreme to the other. Some people shake their heads and say they have heard every word in the book and will hear a new one tomorrow. These people often work in residential treatment centers, in the criminal justice system, or with a particularly outspoken clientele. Other trainees admit that talking fluently about sex in a non-joking manner is very difficult for them. People agree, however, that the use of a vivid sexual vocabulary does not necessarily mean a person is comfortable with sex. In any case a counselor needs both sexual word knowledge and flexibility in order to be effective.
