Mental Health Resources for the LGBTQ Community
In the past few days, I came across a couple of resources targeted toward the LGBTQ community, and I wanted to share them here.
-
-
Sharing – Do Christmas your way
We tend to have these odd expectations about what our Christmas Day should look like. Anything less than the Instagram-worthy family photo with matching PJs and the large dinner surrounded by a loving family is considered an unhappy holiday when this picture of a holiday isn’t possible or desired for so many of us.
-
Why Advocates Should Think Twice About Laws They Support
Law enforcement officials don’t just want to be able to scan for CSAM. That’s the excuse to get the public to buy into mass surveillance. “It’s for the kids” is disingenuous. It’s not for the kids to them, it’s to open the door to the police, and anyone with some skill, to watch ALL of our communication and use it in any way they see fit.
Yes, that will include that cop who’s a little too friendly with the teens in the neighborhood, the one abusing his wife, or the one stalking an ex. It’ll also include officials with political leanings spying on opponents, dictators with unfettered access to all communication coming and going to their citizens, and hackers getting access to blackmail material.
All of it. Out there for anyone with the keys to see, store, and use as they see fit.
-
-
Sharing – Books focusing on men’s mental health
As we roll into November, and many men are taking part in a Movember activity, we like to take a moment to note that the whole movement is focused on men’s health, including mental health.
The folks at Second Step in the UK have book recommendations on the topic.
-
Sharing – I’m a psychologist – and I believe we’ve been told devastating lies about mental health
Of course, he’s right. What he sees in the UK is the same thing I see from my “much less qualified but simply paying attention” seat in the US, and I’m sure many of you see where you live as well. Our current mental health resources are designed to help “fix” something wrong with us. I can’t say they even do that well, but at least that is the plan, and that plan makes sense for many mental health struggles.
It is only part of the picture, though. In all seriousness, how would the 6-8 therapist sessions a good insurance plan covers help someone escaping domestic abuse or trying to feed a family on a minimum wage job? How is the teenager being abused at home, bullied at school, and overwhelmed by the bleakness of what the world might look like when they are an adult supposed to find hope in one crisis text line conversation?
How will we provide hope and connection to people without first understanding their world and how they navigate it every day?
