It's an honor and privilege to be welcoming everybody back to the Caps
podcast series. Today we have with us Alex Harrison. I'm Alex
Harrison, a staff clinician at CABS. Alex is going to be talking to us
today about some of the work that he does working with the LGBTQ+
population. One of the first questions that I was curious about was,
can you speak to some of the trends that you've been seeing in some of
your work? So for example, gender identity, there's a lot of
questioning around gender identity. We see a lot of clients who come
in questioning their gender identity, and maybe difficulty in coming
out related to sexual orientation. Sometimes also there's the
combination of, "I'm struggling with my gender identity or I identify
in a way that society doesn't necessarily view as 'normal'." Then in
addition, there's also conversation around medical concerns and
whether or not trans identified individuals want to pursue hormone
replacement therapy. Sometimes clients come in and we have
conversations about whether or not they want to pursue any type of
surgery, so that they can feel more comfortable with the gender
identity that they identify with. Alex, it sounds like you're doing
some really important work with your clients, and I'd be curious to
know what stands out to you in some of the work? So what I really
value about working with the specific population is that oftentimes I
meet with students who they identify as part of the LGBTQ+ population.
They have never come out to anybody in their lives and then they come
and meet with me for therapy, and I'm the first person that they've
come out to, and I find that to be a very special and rewarding
experience. What I've really valued is being able to see so much
growth in clients that I've worked with who are struggling in coming
to terms with their sexual orientation and gender identity and coming
to a place where they feel more comfortable opening up to others. A
lot of times, there are concerns with family, religion, friends, how
people are going to respond if they were to come out. One thing that
I've really enjoyed doing is the LGBTQ+ group at CAPS in addition to
having the support of the facilitators in the room, having the
supportive environment of others who have gone or are going through
similar situation. It seems like the group that you're offering is a
really supportive space for folks, and I'd be curious to know what
other elements of growth in development tend to be covered? Clients
tend to really value having that support, and when I do the group each
semester, oftentimes, there are people who come into the group and
they haven't come out to family, they haven't come out to friends.
Then, as they progress through the group during the course of this
semester, due to having the support of individuals in the group and
support of the facilitators, some people take huge leap outside of
their comfort zone and end up coming out or feeling more comfortable
with their sexual orientation or gender identity. Just seeing such
progress with these clients is amazing, honestly, and I find that it's
so rewarding. It's pretty amazing that the group is impacting you in
this way and is leaving you with these feelings. I'm also interested
in knowing what complexities exist when working with LGBTQ+
population. So I think one of the difficulties with this particular
population is that in the 1950s, 1960s, unfortunately this was a time
in which identifying as gay was viewed as a disorder. So homosexuality
was classified as a disorder. We've made a lot of progress regarding
mental health treatment. Having said that, I think there are still
some disparities and unequal treatment among LGBTQ groups or LGBTQ
clients trying to seek care. I think overall, there has been a lot of
change in mental health and I think that there have been a lot more
positive attitudes towards being more inclusive of the LGBTQ+
community. Alex, I was hoping you could speak to some of the relevant
statistics that are prevalent with this population. The fear of coming
out and being discriminated against for a sexual orientation, gender
identity, this can contribute to feeling depressed, maybe even some
post-traumatic stress, thoughts of suicide and substance abuse. For
LGBTQ+ people aged 10-24, suicide is one of the leading causes of
death, and LGBTQ youth are four times more likely and questioning
youth are three times more likely to attempt suicide, experienced
suicidal thoughts, or engage in self-harm than heterosexual people.
Those are some important statistics that not only our campus community
but really the field of mental health should be paying attention to.
I'd be curious what you would say to a prospective client who might be
a little hesitant regarding coming in for services. So if a student is
interested in mental health support, I would definitely encourage that
students to come with questions that they can ask the provider. I know
this can be challenging but to feel like you can share any concerns
that you may have working with that provider, or just being in
counseling or mental health treatment in general, even LGBTQ+
identified individual meets with a counselor or a mental health
provider. I think upon leaving that session, trying to reflect on
like, did this person seem at ease with me? Was this a comfortable
interaction? Did this person openly talk about my sexuality or gender
identity? Was I comfortable in the room speaking with this person
about these parts of my identity? Alex, so seeing as how this
population is represented across the globe, are there other resources
available? In addition to support from George Mason University, I
think it's important to also think of supports outside of the
university. I think family and social support are key in helping
LGBTQ+ identified individuals. So some off-campus supports include;
the It Gets Better Campaign, the Trevor Project which provides a
national 24-hour toll-free confidential suicide hotline for LGBTQ
youth, and the Trevor Project also provides an online chat and
confidential text messaging. I am Alex Harrison, a staff clinician at
CAPS.