SVPA Diversity Series
Presented By: Rick Grant-Coons, Psy.D.
With a suicide death every 12.8 minutes and over a million attempts in the United States every year, suicide impacts every community. This is especially true for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer and Questioning communities. Today, more research has shown elevated risk factors specific to these communities due to heterosexist abuse that exists in society. LGBQ Affirmative Therapy is an approach to psychotherapy that is based on the understanding that LGBQ people are not just tolerated or accepted, but celebrated for their value in any culture. This perspective is essential for effective therapy since it challenges many years of hostility inflicted by the dominate culture. Mental health clinicians trained in LGBQ Affirmative Therapy and Suicide Prevention can improve their effectiveness for helping LGBQ clients increase protective factors and resilience while decreasing risk of suicide attempts and death.
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