LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy in Bentonville
What is LGBTQ+?
Put plainly, the letters of LGBTQ+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (or questioning). While the acronym meant to define this group over the years has changed, many of the specific difficulties they face has remained the same, despite growing acceptance in our culture today.
Many individuals that Identify as LGBTQ+ seek counseling for reasons similar to the general population, although many face challenges unique to this group of people. Actually, it’s known that LGBTQ individuals seek mental health treatment at a higher rate than their non-LGBTQ counterparts.
Adoption
Allies
Anxiety
Asexual
Bullying
Depression
Difficult Life Experiences
Discrimination
Family Conflict
Gender Dysphoria
Intersex
Parenting Difficulties
Queer
Questioning
Relationship Problems
Self-Injury
Sexual Identity
Sex and Intimacy
Social Rejection
Suicidal Ideation
Work Place Related Stress
Transgender
Trauma
Concerns Related to LGBTQ+ Identity
Sexual Identity.
Your sexual identity is the way you express your sexual orientation. It encompasses the thoughts, feelings, and fantasies that give definition to our attraction toward another. Working therapeutically toward unlocking the layers of this identity is a valuable and complex experience.
Some may find that giving themselves a label can be a part of a healing process for them, learning to own their identity. Others may struggle with this process for years, often questioning their sexual identity and leading to confusion and stress.
Gender Dysphoria.
Gender Dysphoria is the official term for the feel of your identity or expression not feeling aligned with your physical sex at birth. The lack of acceptance and understanding from family and culture often leads to an experience of clinically significant distress. This can affect one’s overall wellbeing but finding supportive therapy to process trauma and step into your identity is an empowering way to heal.
Discrimination Related to LGBTQ+ Identity
A number of societal factors can contribute to heightened feelings of discrimination for those with LGBTQ+ identities. You may find you feel anxious or depressed, rejected or bullied. It may be difficult to cope with the weight of these feelings and their impact on their life.
From online socializing to professional harassment, LGBTQ+ discrimination can happen anywhere in your world. The added challenge of being your truest self can feel like a lot to defend against when you’re trying to just be unapologetically you. Elevated mental health risk in LGBTQ populations is thought to stem from the stigma that is perpetuated through many layers of society.
Social Rejection and Bullying
Being rejected or bullied often leads to chronic stress and other health problems. Not surprisingly, many of these experiences are coded in our brains as traumatic and heave their own set of difficulties to overcome.
Young people within the LGBTQ+ community are almost ten times more likely to have experienced bullying and victimization at school. Adults, too, often face discrimination with regards to housing, employment, education, and basic human rights.
Suicidal Ideation & Self- Harm
Experiencing feelings of rejection and worthlessness from the people who matter most to you can amplify mental health struggles to crisis levels, even when no one knows you are struggling.
For some, the discrimination and associated stress is so overwhelming that they consider ending it all. Trans people are particularly vulnerable, but no matter your LGBTQ identity, your life is valuable. Therapy can support you in finding solid ground beneath the scary depth of trauma. If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide, please call 911 immediately.
LGBTQ+ and Family.
A common thread throughout each of these concerns is related to the influence of the family. Whether it is fear of sharing with family, the “coming out” process itself, or coping with the reactions of friends and family, how we react to the identity and orientation of our loved ones has huge potential to affect them for years to come.
"I am not what happened to me, I am who I choose to become."
-Carl Jung
Questions You Might Have About LGBTQ-Related Concerns
Is it okay that I’m having a hard time adjusting to my child’s admission about being a member of the LGBTQ+ community?
Yes. It’s okay that something new or unfamiliar is difficult to adjust to, and therapy is the perfect place to work through that. Whether you’re struggling to accept your child’s identity or you’re simply trying to expanding your understanding, working through your own emotions in private so you can offer your child authentic support is admirable and brace.
Educating yourself and becoming familiar with the challenges your child may have faced or may be experiencing now is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your relationship with your child.
As you adjust and learn, finding a supportive community of parents and those who have walked similar paths may be validating for you. Therapy and connection are a healthy way to process this new life ahead while supporting your child.
How can I become an advocate for my child?
You can begin just as you are- by recognizing the places you need to learn and reaching for that knowledge while owning your own experience in therapy. Opening your mind to learning about the world beyond your own identity is a huge and powerful statement you make when you accept the power of being an advocate for your child.
You can do this by:
Educating yourself about the life and laws that pertain to LGBTQ+ experiences.
Speaking up when you see discrimination, and protecting others from becoming a victim in situations where their identity puts them at elevated risk.
Being open about your experiences so others can learn. Creating familiarity is a powerful path toward acceptance in your family and beyond it.
How does identifying as LGBTQ+ impact our mental health?
Being LGBTQ+ impacts your mental health long before you come out as any particular identity. Even if the lens or label you choose to use shifts, your mental health will be a powerful part of understanding what you need from your identity.
Stepping into the power of your authenticity is empowering and may help strengthen your mental health.
There are a number of factors specific to the LGBTQ+ community that contribute to negative reports of mental health, including negative stigma, discrimination and family struggles.
It can be difficult and there is no denying that LGBTQ+ folks experience mental health struggles in a much greater proportion than the general population, including anxiety, depression, substance abuse and suicide risk.
How can counseling help with issues regarding sexual and gender identity?
Counseling can be incredibly helpful to the process of learning to accept yourself (or your child) as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
In therapy together, we will work through a version of the following:
Process the effects of discrimination & homophobia
Explore gender identity and expression
Gain a greater understanding of the “coming out” process
Review & work through trauma
Develop coping skills to work through anxiety, depression, and sexual compulsivity
Address relationship issues
Tips For Parents of LGBTQ+ Kids
Let them know they are loved
For your child, telling you their truth was probably groundbreaking and terrifying. The way that you respond to them in that moment and after sets the stage for how your relationship will develop, now and into their adulthood.
Research shows that LGBTQ+ teens who are supported by their families grow up to be happier and healthier adults.
To be clear, you don’t need to be a LGBTQ+ expert, or always know what to say. The most important thing however is that you communicate your love and care.
Keep the conversation going
Continue the conversation by staying curious about your teen’s life. Get to know their friends, and ask them questions in their area of interest so that they can feel like the ‘expert’ in something and build confidence.
Connecting through shared interests or cultivated curiosity are great strategies for teens no matter how they identify. Remaining connected to their world in surface ways makes it easier for them to approach you with the more complex issues they face.
Take a team approach
It can be an incredibly taxing job to adjust to the new reality and be able to support your kids in all the ways thay may need it. It’s okay to be stressed, confused and unsure how to handle the new situations that arise. There is no set path, although when you realize that you’ve lost your way, this is when it’s best to call in the reinforcements.
Let the professionals in your child’s life support you in making a team- from teachers, coaches and family to pediatricians. Gain your child’s consent before sharing their identity with anyone in their life.
Contact Us Today To Get Started.
“I believe that telling our stories, first to ourselves and then to one another and the world, is a revolutionary act.”