Summary

Often, gender and sexual diversity in adolescents can be viewed through a problematic lens by parents, teachers and clinicians. Although social and transition obstacles might arise, how would the mental health of our gender and sexually expansive teens improve if we viewed identity diversity as a gift instead? Too often, adolescents are ostracized at home and at school for their perceived differences. Let’s learn skills to help parents and educators learn to prevent the lasting negative impact of this treatment. Also, let’s learn how to put clinical interventions into play at home and school to help with the coming out process, and transition process for adolescents. Lastly, learn to identify your implicit biases and how to reframe expansive diversity as a gift to be celebrated. 

Course Objectives:

• Objective 1:
  Become proficient in LGBTQ+ identities and relationship constructs as to use correctly and understand client on a clinically competent level, specifically focusing on adolescents.
• Objective 2:
  Learn practical clinical skills (verbal and non-verbal) to increase the positivity of the therapeutic alliance and to achieve progress when working with adolescent and parents who identify in the LGBTQIA+ community.
• Objective 3:
  Learn how to challenge own beliefs (when necessary), and support others regarding sexual orientation and gender in order to flip any negative beliefs preventing celebration of gender and sexual expansive identity in adolescents.