Holiday Prep: Navigating the Season as an LGBTQIA+ Youth or Ally
The holiday season can bring both joy and challenges, especially for LGBTQIA+ youth and their allies. Discover tips for creating affirming spaces, supporting loved ones, and showing compassion during this time of year.
Rachael Longoria, MS, LPC, NCC (she/her) is Out Youth’s Director of Clinical & Social Services. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Counseling at St. Edward’s University, President of the Capital of Texas Counseling Association, a PhD candidate at Texas Tech University’s Counseling Education program, and operates a private counseling practice, SpeakEasy Counseling, LLC.
Alok Vaid-Menon once said, “It’s never been about comprehension, it’s always been about compassion.” This quote feels especially important as we head into the holiday season. For LGBTQIA+ youth, this time of year can bring joy but also many challenges.
The holidays often come with more harmful rhetoric and policies that target LGBTQIA+ communities. Many queer and trans youth face higher risks of depression, including seasonal depression, compared to their cisgender, heterosexual peers. Affirming someone’s identity can greatly improve mental health for LGBTQIA+ youth (Riggle et al., 2014; Tordoff et al., 2022). Without support, though, youth in states with anti-LGBTQIA+ policies are more likely to experience bullying and substance use (Watson et al., 2021). The Trevor Project also found that less than 40% of LGBTQIA+ youth feel their home is a supportive space.
Family gatherings and traditions can sometimes bring tension for LGBTQIA+ individuals. Whether you are part of the LGBTQIA+ community or an ally, showing compassion can make a big difference. Here are some tips to help you or your loved ones get through the holidays.
Holiday Coping Tips for LGBTQIA+ Youth
Find affirming spaces. Spend time with people who allow you to be your true self. Safe and supportive environments can make the holidays much easier.
Check in with your emotions. Ask yourself how you’re feeling. Do you need a break? Is there someone you trust to lean on? Have a plan for coping if things get tough.
Follow positive voices online. Make your social media a space that uplifts you. Follow people and organizations that reflect your values and make you feel good about yourself. (Like Out Youth!)
Consider advocacy or activism. If it feels right, take part in actions that support LGBTQIA+ rights. Advocacy can look different for everyone, from speaking up in conversations to supporting policy changes. Choose what feels empowering to you.
Tips for Allies of LGBTQIA+ Loved Ones
Show your support. Let your loved one know you care about them and value who they are.
Ask questions with kindness. Be curious and open to learning about their experiences.
Educate yourself. Learn about LGBTQIA+ topics on your own so your loved one doesn’t have to explain everything.
Be nonjudgmental. Create a space where your loved one feels safe and supported.
Offer affirmations. A simple “I’m here for you” can go a long way.
A Reminder of Your Worth
It’s easy to give compassion to others, but don’t forget to show it to yourself. The holidays can be tough, especially if you’re in a space that doesn’t feel affirming. Here’s your reminder: you are loved, you matter, and you deserve to take care of yourself this holiday season.
Whether you find strength in advocacy, supportive spaces, or allyship, these steps can help make the holidays more manageable. Remember, you are not alone. Out Youth and many other organizations are here to support you through it all.
References:
Gonzalez, K. A., Pulice-Farrow, L., & Abreu, R. L. (2022). “In the voices of people like me”: LGBTQ coping during Trump’s administration. The Counseling Psychologist, 50(2), 212-240.
Johnson, K. C., LeBlanc, A. J., Sterzing, P. R., Deardorff, J., Antin, T., & Bockting, W. O. (2020). Trans adolescents’ perceptions and experiences of their parents’ supportive and rejecting behaviors. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 67(2), 156.
Riggle, E., Gonzalez, K., Rostosky, S., & Black, W. (2014). Cultivating positive LGBTQA identities: An intervention study with college students. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 8(3), 264-281. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538605.2014.933468
Tordoff, D., Wanta, J., Collin, A., Stepney, C., Inwards-Breland, D., & Ahrens, K. (2022). Mental health outcomes in transgender and nonbinary youths receiving gender-affirming care. JAMA Network Open, 5(2), e220978. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.0978
Watson, R. J., Fish, J. N., Denary, W., Caba, A., Cunningham, C., & Eaton, L. A. (2021). LGBTQ state policies: A lever for reducing SGM youth substance use and bullying. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 221, 108659. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108659
Be YOU Expands to Serve More Schools this Fall
Out Youth is expanding its reach to youth in Title 1 middle schools and high schools with the help of Lead Clinician for School-based Services, Renée Randazzo, LPC-Intern (1). Thanks to a generous Opportunity Grant from the Saint David’s Foundation, Renée was hired in November to facilitate supportive counseling groups in middle schools and high schools in Central Texas, and is charged with the long-term vision of growing the program.
OutYouth is expanding its reach to more schools this fall with the help of Lead Clinician for School-based Services, Renée Randazzo, LPC-Intern (1). This continues our work providing in-school support to LGBTQ+ students thanks to a generous Opportunity Grant from the Saint David’s Foundation.
This fall, our Be YOU curriculum will be available in 10 local Title 1 middle schools and high schools. Interest was so strong at Manor High School and McCallum High School that two groups will be needed at each in order to meet the demand.
The groups we led this past Spring were vital to students at Travis High School, Eastside Memorial High School, Manor High School, Dobie Middle School, and Bertha Sadler Means Young Women’s Academy. In all, we were able to deliver campus-based supportive counseling to 40 youth, many of whom would not otherwise be able to access OutYouth’s services.
Over the summer, Renée completed our Be YOU curriculum and will be piloting it over the school year 2017-18, collecting data from participants in order to evaluate its effectiveness.
“The Be YOU curriculum has a solid foundation in the most current research on supporting LGBT youth,” Renée explained. “It is also based on Out Youth’s 27 years of experience serving the needs youth of all sexual orientations and gender identities. In many ways, writing this curriculum was like channeling the wisdom of Out Youth and turning that wisdom into a written product.”
With a total of 12 groups planned, the coming school year promises to be a busy and fruitful one. Our goal is to end the school year with double the number of youth served in the program over the previous year, rich data collected from the pilot demonstrating youth’s improved resilience and self-advocacy, and a well-crafted and thoroughly-tested curriculum to share with the world.
(1) Renée Randazzo, LPC-Intern is supervised by Sara Weber, LPC-S
Transgender Wellness, a new service of Out Youth
In March, Texas Health Action's KIND Clinic opened a free transgender care clinic, the first of its kind in Central Texas. Through a new program called Transgender Wellness, Out Youth is piloting an array of holistic services in partnership with the KIND Clinic to promote the wellbeing of transgender Texans.
In March, Texas Health Action's KIND Clinic opened a free transgender care clinic, the first of its kind in Central Texas. Through a new program called Transgender Wellness, Out Youth is piloting an array of holistic services in partnership with the KIND Clinic to promote the wellbeing of transgender Texans.
Texas Health Action's medical director Dr. Cynthia Brinson hopes the clinic will be “a place where people who are seeking help for gender issues can feel at home.” At the Kind Clinic, transgender adults receive gender-affirming care such as feminizing hormones, masculinizing hormones, STD screenings, and HIV treatment and prevention drugs.
In addition to receiving medical care, patients of the Kind Clinic can access Transgender Wellness, a program of Out Youth, to meet more of their needs. Transgender Wellness provides a weekly support group, individual counseling services, and case management including help with the process of name and gender marker changes.
“Not everybody who goes to the Kind Clinic for gender-affirming care will have a need for these services,” explains Out Youth’s Clinical Director Sarah Kapostasy. “But for those who do, we are pleased to be able to help. Navigating the journey of gender affirmation can be difficult and stressful. Transgender Wellness supports people in both the logistical and the emotional aspects of this journeys.”
At launch, Transgender Wellness saw immediate success. Attendance at the weekly Gender Affirmation support group is strong and consistent, with members expressing gratitude for the opportunity to meet others and share their stories in a supportive space. Appointments for individual counseling and case management services also began filling up right away. As Out Youth supports the mental health and wellness of transgender and gender non-binary people, we will collect data showing of benefits of these services to pursue additionally opportunities to fund Transgender Wellness beyond the pilot period.
The need for free transgender wellness services in Austin is indisputable, and Out Youth is pleased to partner with the Kind Clinic to be able to offer them.
Be YOU Curriculum Supports Students in Schools Across Central Texas
Out Youth is expanding its reach to youth in Title 1 middle schools and high schools with the help of Lead Clinician for School-based Services, Renée Randazzo, LPC-Intern (1). Thanks to a generous Opportunity Grant from the Saint David’s Foundation, Renée was hired in November to facilitate supportive counseling groups in middle schools and high schools in Central Texas, and is charged with the long-term vision of growing the program.
OutYouth is expanding its reach to youth in Title 1 middle schools and high schools with the help of Lead Clinician for School-based Services, Renée Randazzo, LPC-Intern (1). Thanks to a generous Opportunity Grant from the Saint David’s Foundation, Renée was hired in November to facilitate supportive counseling groups in middle schools and high schools in Central Texas, and is charged with the long-term vision of growing the program.
Renée is an LGBTQ-affirming psychotherapist who has experience working with adolescents and teens in school settings. Before arriving in Austin during the summer of 2016, she worked for one of the nation's leading organizations in LGBT healthcare, Fenway Health, as the Transgender Health Patient Advocate and Community Liaison. Renée also worked as a school-based clinician for the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, conducting individual and group counseling in Boston Public Schools. She completed clinical internships at the MassArt Counseling and Wellness Center and Boston GLASS (Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services).
At OutYouth, Renée hit the ground running, facilitating existing groups at Travis High School, Eastside Memorial High School, Manor High School, Dobie Middle School, and Bertha Sadler Means Young Women’s Academy. She also brought on a new campus for the spring semester of 2017, Del Valle High School. Alongside Clinical Director Sarah Kapostasy, LPC, and two graduate student interns, Renée delivered campus-based supportive counseling to 40 youth, many of whom would not otherwise be able to access OutYouth’s services.
In addition to providing direct services, Renée has drafted a formal curriculum for supporting the social emotional wellbeing of middle school and high school students who are vulnerable to minority stress. The curriculum is entitled “Be YOU: Young, Outspoken, Unbreakable” and combines best practices in LGBT-affirming counseling with developmentally appropriate techniques to maximize cohesion in youth groups.
“The Be YOU curriculum has a solid foundation in the most current research on supporting LGBT youth,” Renée explained. “It is also based on Out Youth’s 27 years of experience serving the needs youth of all sexual orientations and gender identities. In many ways, writing this curriculum was like channeling the wisdom of Out Youth and turning that wisdom into a written product.”
Pending approval from the Austin, Manor, and Del Valle School Districts, OutYouth plans to pilot the Be YOU curriculum through its school based services program over the school year 2017-18, collecting data from participants in order to evaluate its effectiveness. The reach of the program will expand from six campuses to ten, with the launch of groups at Webb Middle School, Mendez Middle School, McCallum High School, and Liberal Arts and Science Academy. Interest in the Be YOU groups is so strong at Manor High School and McCallum High School that two groups will be needed at each in order to meet the demand.
With a total of 12 groups planned, the coming school year promises to be a busy and fruitful one. Our goal is to end the school year with double the number of youth served in the program over the previous year, rich data collected from the pilot demonstrating youth’s improved resilience and self-advocacy, and a well-crafted and thoroughly-tested curriculum to share with the world.
(1) Renée Randazzo, LPC-Intern is supervised by Sara Weber, LPC-S
Creating a Circle of Support for Families of Out Youth
Positive parental and familial relationships are crucial for all youth. For LGBTQ+ youth in particular, families can play a critical role in reducing risks and promoting well-being.
Since youth can express a clear sense of gender identity at various ages, there is greater awareness among some families that an adolescent might be transgender. As a result, more parents are seeking accurate information about gender development and sources of support. [1]
The Out Youth Family Circle of Support aims to give parents and caregivers of trans-identified youth a forum for sharing, support and education. Family members gather on Sunday evenings for six weeks to discuss their hopes and concerns, and to receive psycho-education related to gender identity.
The Family Circle of Support is facilitated by mental health clinicians with experience in family therapy in the context of the LGBTQ+ community. Jessica Fish, co-facilitator of the group this Fall, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin.
“Some of the most meaningful moments as a facilitator is seeing how parents, grandparents and other family members grow in their time during group and how they come to better understand and support their youth through that process.”
“It's amazing to see how dedicated these parents are to showing support and affirmation for their youth," said Jessica, a facilitator for the Circle of Support. “Some of the most meaningful moments as a facilitator is seeing how parents, grandparents and other family members grow in their time during group and how they come to better understand and support their youth through that process. We talk a lot about how to be supportive of our youth by affirming their identities, and letting explore who they are at a very important time in their lives.”
“What I found most helpful was to hear the stories of other families and where they were in their journey,” said Pat, a parent who recently attended a Circle of Support meeting. “To hear parents that seemed to be further along in their journey than myself and get their feedback on how they dealt with their child coming out as transgender. Although my child has only been out to me since March of this year, I feel I have come a long way with not only that but with all that a parent of a transgender youth has to go through.”
In addition to the Family Circle of Support, Out Youth is implementing innovative ways to connect with the families of the youth we serve.
In December, Out Youth plans to host a panel consisting of parents of transgender youth as well as a local medical provider who specializes in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for transgender clients. This combination of personal experience and professional expertise aims to help parents and guardians feel less alone and leave better informed, so they can best support their child.
The next round of the Family Circle of Support group will start in January of 2017.
For more information about the Family Circle of Support or clinical services at Out Youth, please contact Sarah Kapostasy, Clinical Director, at sarah.kapostasy@outyouth.org.
[1] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, A Practitioner’s Resource Guide: Helping Families to Support Their LGBT Children. HHS Publication No. PEP14-LGBTKIDS. Rockville, MD: 201