LGBTQ+ Mental Health Information and Resources
“ There’s room for every kind of human under the color blue.” Hannah Gadsby
Welcome to my blog! My desire for this portion of my page is not to convince anyone to engage in therapy but rather to provide insight. I want to provide an opportunity for individuals to easily access resources and information without pressure. For those reasons, I promise never to start a post with a question. I don’t believe that “Are you feeling alone?” is a particularly engaging question for my goals.
Today is June 28, which marks the day of the Stonewall riots in 1969 that resulted in a movement that stilling enduring.
I would like to dedicate my first post to the LGBTQ+ community. It goes without question that the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community has grown throughout the years. However, the community continues to face challenges with societal acceptance. In addition, they face challenges unique to the LGBTQ+ community. I’d like to take the time to provide research:
Research
LGBTQ+ adolescents are six times more likely to experience depression symptoms when compared to non-LGBTQ+ identifying teens. 1
Studies have shown that LGBTQ+ adolescents are more than twice as likely to have passive suicidal ideations and over four times as likely to attempt suicide compared to heterosexual adolescents. 1
One national study found that forty-eight percent of transgender adults, reported considering suicide in the last year, compared to 4 percent of the overall US population. 2
An episode of LGBTQ+ victimization increases the likelihood of self-harm behaviors by 2.5 times on average. Victimization includes physical or verbal harassment and or abuse.3
Resources
The Trevor Report: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/
The Trevor Project also offers crisis intervention and suicide prevention services by trained clinicians.
Trevor Lifeline Phone: 1-866-488-7386
TrevorText Text the word “Trevor” to 1-202-304-1200
TrevorChat: Online instant messaging with a TrevorChat counselor.
Trans Lifeline : www.translifeline.org
Trans Lifeline is a nonprofit organization the also offers a hotline and support services by transgender individuals for transgender Phone: 1-877-565-8860
National Alliance on Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/LGBTIQ NAMI is a mental health organization for individuals impacted by mental illness.
Reference: (1) CDC. (2016). Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Risk Behaviors Among Students in Grades 9-12: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2) National Center for Transgender Equality. (2016). The report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Full-Report-Dec17.pdf (3) IMPACT. (2010). Mental health disorders, psychological distress, and suicidality in a diverse sample of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youths. American Journal of Public Health. 100(12), 2426-32. (4) James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M., Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016). The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality.