Family Therapy May Help LGB Youth at Risk for Suicide
Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) teens are at increased risk for suicide due to peer victimization and minority discrimination. These actions can have serious psychological consequences for teens, including plummeting self-esteem, anxiety, hopelessness and depression. “No experience, however, is more pernicious than parental rejection,” said Gary M. Diamond of the Department of Psychology at Ben-Gurion University in Israel, and co-author of a study examining treatments to reduce suicide among LGB youth. “Societal homophobic... Read More
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As you would with any client, be sure to conduct a complete and comprehensive interview. Be sure to ask about what they thought life would be like, versus what reality is. Is there a loss of a dream? Any traumas? Are they ‘out’ or in process of coming out? It is wise to remember and even educate folks that ‘coming out’ is a lifetime process and not a discreet event. People may ‘come out’ at different levels in different settings (e.g. family, friends, work, etc). Be prepared to ask questions over time, as answers will change as clients feel more comfortable and safe.
LGBTQ clients... 
Bullying has become an epidemic among American youth. Adolescents are especially vulnerable to the negative mental and 
During a recent staff workshop at my school, the presenter shocked and confounded most of the crowd when she used the word “pansexual”. Most of the teachers in the room had never before heard this term. “Bisexual” they could wrap their heads around: someone sexually attracted to people of both genders. But pansexual... someone sexually attracted to people of all genders? A handful of the workshop participants were unable to resist scratching their heads and looking around quizzically.
The truth is, there are scads of people who do not identify solely as male/masculine or female/feminine.... 
In May this year, 16 people lost their lives to transphobic violence and hate: 11 in Brazil, and one each in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Venezuela. I know, because just a couple of days ago I read aloud the names of each departed soul at the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) observance in Oakland, CA. Of course, not all the names were known. Most were women, transgendered women, and if their names were not known, we usually knew something of where they lost their lives: their apartments, the street, a bathroom, on a bus... In May, their ages (if known)... 
When we are born, and these days often even before, the big question is, “Is it a boy or a girl?” The way this question was answered when we were born impacts us every day throughout our whole lives. This is the day we are assigned a gender. In our culture we treat boys and girls, and men and women, very differently. Everything is gendered, from toys and clothes, to emotions and ways of thinking. No one is off the hook from these gender scripts; they tell us how to dress, act, and even how to interact with other people (Bem, 1993; Gagne & Tewksbury, 1998; Gagne, Tewksbury, & McGaughey,... 
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“Gay and bisexual men experience numerous negative health conditions, including high rates of mental health problems,” said Beth N. Fischgrund of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University, and lead author of a new study examining masculinity and mental health in 
A GoodTherapy.org Headline:
Many young people are revealing their 
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Lesbian, gay and bisexual (
I carry some pain with me from the times I have failed to be there for students when they really needed it. I have worked as a school counselor for over a decade, and I’ve always been particularly aware of students grappling with sexual orientation issues. Every situation has been different: some students have hinted that they may be “uncomfortable” in their own skin; some have firmly rejected any insinuation they may not be one hundred percent straight; some students have come out to me before I had any clue they were even leaning in that direction. All of my interactions with gay students... 
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“The CDC has estimated that HIV diagnosis rates among men having sex with men (MSM) are 60 times the rate in other men and 54 times the rate in women,” said researchers at the University of Illinois. Brian Mustanski, of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois, together with colleagues from Brown University, recently conducted a study to determine what factors posed the greatest risk for 
Craig D. DiGiovanni of Boston College, and Brian W. Koenig with K12 Associates in Middleton, Wisconsin, realize the negative social and psychological impact bullying has on adolescents. In a recent study, the team assessed over 15,000 adolescents to determine what factors influenced the effects of 
