MEETING THE HEALTH NEEDS OF LGBTQ+ CLIENTS

LGBTQ+ clients often face significant barriers to healthcare. Due to distrust and fear and/or past negative healthcare experiences, LGBTQ+ clients are at a higher risk for delaying seeking medical care and not being open about their identities and/or behaviors with medical professionals. This interactive program offers real life LGBTQ+ health-related scenarios, statistics from recent LGBTQ+ health care studies, tips for being respectful in our language and best practices for creating welcoming and inclusive spaces.

Due to systematic heterosexism/cissexism, on-going societal discrimination and legal inequalities the LGBTQ+ client brings a unique set of challenges to the therapeutic relationship. Fear and distrust of the mental health community, which previously viewed LGBTQ+ people as mentally ill, continues to create an environment where LGBTQ+ clients are more likely to delay seeking care and are less likely to trust in the process. This interactive presentation will offer participants statistics on depression and suicide rates in the LGBTQ+ community, tips for being respectful in our language and best-practices for creating welcoming and inclusive spaces. This training can also be tailored to include information on drug and alcohol addictions and intimate partner violence within the LGBTQ+ communities.

Time Requirement: 2.0 - 3.0 hours