Total Credits: 2 including 2 American Psychological Association, 2 Association of Social Worker Boards, 2 National Board of Certified Counselors, 2 California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals
Members of the LGBTQIA+ community are at higher risk for suicide, substance use, not completing behavioral health treatment modalities, and suicide. We know that treatment and healing have higher outcomes when safety is present in the healing spaces. Too many behavioral health professionals have little knowledge of queer identities and almost no policies and procedures in place to be able to offer gender affirming care. As facilitators of healing, it is incumbent upon us to learn how to offer gender affirming spaces and make all members of our community feel safe.
Zahava “Zee” Zaidoff (she, her) is a spouse and mother and has been living in Hawaii County for over a decade. She is the founder of Hope808 consulting firm, where she is a speaker, trainer, and writer around issues from neurodivergence to addiction to the LGBTQIA+ community. Zee holds several certifications including Masters Level Registered Addiction Specialist and Certified Co-occurring Disorder Specialist. Authentic conversations and the sharing of life experiences is the critical missing piece in our systems; lived experience must be elevated. https://hope808.com
https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.20220763
https://www.talkspace.com/blog/ways-to-support-mental-health-lgbt-loved-ones/
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/mental-health-care-access-and-use-among-lgbtq-young-people/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10173229/
