Creating Affirming Environments for LGBTQ People Receiving Services provides an overview of terms, concepts, and identities that people working in the behavioral health field should know to provide affirming services and cultivate affirming environment for LGBTQ people. Based on a 2018 report from the Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health, titled Peers in Research: Interventions for Developing LGBTQ-Affirmative Behavioral Health Services in Texas, most providers in Texas do not hold overtly prejudicial attitudes towards LGBTQ clients, but that most providers either lack the knowledge and skills to provide appropriate care to LGBTQ clients or are not aware of the importance of LGBTQ-affirming care. This training aims to bridge the gap many providers feel by offering basic information, resources, and guidance for people working in behavioral health agencies on how to support LGBTQ people receiving services.
   
Co-created by: Darcy Kues, JD., and Shane Whalley, MSSW
   
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this training, participants will be able to:
   • Define many current terms used in the LGBTQ communities;
   • Understand the foundation of sexual orientation and gender;
   • Recognize the unique impacts of trauma on the LGBTQ communities;
   • Communicate using an affirming framework with LGBTQ people receiving services; and
   • Implement at least one LGBTQ-affirming organizational/environmental change.
   
For more information on this training, including training opportunities through the South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center or how to bring this training to your community, please email [email protected].