National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month

July is not only the month we gather together to shoot off fireworks and celebrate America's Independence; it's also the month we highlight and recognize the unique challenges underrepresented communities (including race, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, gender identity, ability, and socioeconomic status) face when navigating their mental health.

As LGBTQ-identified clinicians, we know first hand how the field of mental health hasn't always been kind to marginalized and/or intersectional identities and communities. From pathologizing identities to homophobic and transphobic clinicians, the queer community, specifically, has faced (and continues to experience) a lot of harm when seeking help in managing their mental health.

We're dedicated to changing that experience for our clients, one person at a time.

The LGBTQIA+ community often experiences higher rates of depression, anxiety, and even suicidality as compared to our cishet peers. It's important to recognize that this is due, in a large part, to societal and relational treatment of LGBTQ-identified persons (including bullying, rejection, and other forms of discrimination), rather than being inherent to our identities.

That being said, many queer people find more value in working with an LGBTQ-identified provider, because they know they're safe and won't have to educate their therapist on the cultural nuances of being queer.