Happy Pride Month!

Happy June — Happy Pride Month! This month, let’s celebrate the impact lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals have had on American history and culture. Mental healthcare providers are uniquely positioned to combat the stigma these and many other communities face. Pride month helps us remember to have hard conversations about the mental health needs of sexual and gender minorities. LGBTQ youth have higher rates of depression, anxiety, suicidality, and substance abuse rooted in trauma and an over lack of acceptance by loved ones and/or society.

Pride Month began with the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, NY, which was the tipping point of the gay liberation movement in the United States. This year, Georgia HOPE is proud to turn attention to diversity in sexual and gender identities. We will learn affirming practices to use and create space to discuss or ask questions. Let’s start by getting updated on the communities that celebrate Pride Month. The graphic below is not complete; there are other sexual and gender identities/expressions to be added.

Here are some resources to encourage our collective learning during this Pride Month:

• https://georgiaequality.org/ (Advancing Fairness, Safety, and Opportunity for LGBT Georgians)

• https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/ (LGBT + Legislation in USA)

• https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/bans-trans-youth-health-care/ 

• https://www.asexuality.org/ (AVEN: Asexual Visibility & Education Network)

• The Gay BCs of LGBT+: An Accompaniment to the ABCs of LGBT by Ashley Mardell

• How Straight People Respond When Asked When THEY “Chose” To Be Straight  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4vC9TmUm5o 

• https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/policy/issues 

·         Link to resources on current legislation surrounding lgbt+ issues

·         State-by-state and nation-wide

• https://amaze.org/  

·         An educational resource that provides extensive sex education that is not required or taught in the public schools

·         The primary target audience is children, but it can also be used by adults to learn about sex ed. In particular, the site provides information on how to teach/talk about these topics such as healthy relationships, puberty, sexual orientation, and gender identity, etc. with children. 

• https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/bias-free-language/racial-ethnic-minorities 

·         Provides “bias-free” language when referring to people of different racial (and some ethnic) backgrounds

Stay tuned for our monthly EDI Training on affirmative practices in working with LGBTQ populations! Feel free to reach out with questions.

HOPE IS HERE

For more info and educational resources on the LGBTQ community, we’d love to speak to you further. HOPE is here. Contact us today.