APA Blogs
8 Results
Understanding the Barriers to Coming Out for LGBTQ+ People of Color
Even as societal attitudes and laws have shifted, many queer people from minority communities still stay in the closet. Understanding the reasons why can help health professionals better serve this group, and everyone to better understand the challenges this community faces.
LGBTQ+ Mental Health and Participation in Sports
Approximately 7-9% of youth identify as LGBTQ+, including 2% identifying as transgender. Well-established research shows LGBTQ+ persons are at a higher risk for anxiety, depression, substance misuse, disordered eating, homelessness, and suicide. Since youth participation in sports has been linked to better outcomes in academics, self-esteem, confidence, stress, anxiety, depression, and risky behavior engagement, it would seem to make sense to encourage LGBTQ+ people to participate in sports as one way to mitigate the mentioned disparities.
Five Ways to Support LGBTQ+ Mental Health
Family and friends can play a valuable role in supporting the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals. LGBTQ+ individuals are more likely than others to experience mental health challenges.
Among LGBTQ+ Adults, Mental Health Improves with Age
Many years of research have identified health and mental health disparities among LGBTQ+ individuals, showing they experience higher rates of mental health problems compared to the heterosexual, cisgender population. A recent APA national poll found that LGBTQ+ adults are more likely than adults overall to be anxious about a number of current issues, including gun violence, climate change and the future of reproductive rights. They are twice as likely (62% vs 31%) to be anxious about the future of LGBTQ+ rights. Â
“CURED” Documentary: What It’s Like to Participate in a Chronicle of Psychiatry’s Past
- By Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., FRCP-E, FRCPsych
At the 1972 APA Annual Meeting, in Dallas, Texas, a psychiatrist identified only as “Dr. H. Anonymous,” who had been stigmatized and lost his job because of his sexual orientation, offered a masked protest during a session devoted to psychiatry’s relationship with homosexuality. Joined on the panel (chaired by Judd Marmor, M.D.) by the organizer/activists Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny, the psychiatrist was later revealed to be Dr. John Fryer. This event that was a watershed moment both for psychiatry and the LGBTQ community, and eventually led to the removal of homosexuality from the DSM in 1973.