APA Policy Statement on Inclusive Care for Transgender Individuals & Research Rodeo 6
Hello everyone. It’s time for another Research Rodeo. I have gotten quite a few articles for these rodeos, so I have quite the queue of research to discuss over the next few weeks. But first, I want to start off discussing the new policy statement from the American Psychological Association. And if you are new here, welcome and subscribe below!
APA Policy Statement
The APA overwhelmingly voted to pass a new policy statement on Inclusive Care for Transgender, Gender Diverse, and Nonbinary Individuals. This was written in response to the misinformation and outright lies being spread about the ways to support transgender, gender diverse, and nonbinary people, especially youth. Importantly, the APA is coming out to specifically support the rights of transgender people to get the care that they need without political intervention. It is great to see this prestigious organization come out in support of transgender individuals and, importantly, provide a tool which can be used in the fighting for transgender rights.
Research Rodeo 6
Zucker (2023) “Understanding and Addressing LGBTQ Health Disparities: A Power and Gender Perspective” Building on the work of Minority Stress Theory, which discusses how the stigma and discrimination of being a minority has a negative impact on physical and mental health, Zucker’s chapter looks at how these negative impacts play out for LGBTQIA+ people. Specifically, using an intersectional and feminist framework, Zucker questions how health is often seen as an individual issue instead of being influenced by larger socio-cultural forces. Achieving health is put on the individual, but there are many issues that may prevent LGBTQIA+ individuals from achieving “healthy lifestyle” as is designated through a heternormative perspective, including discrimination, fear of being out or judged, and political forces preventing transgender people from getting care. Understanding these larger issues can help nonprofits support LGBTQIA+ individuals on their road to health, whatever that road might be.
Chan, Ku, & Yan (2023) “Exploring discrimination, social acceptance, and its impact on the psychological well-being of older men who have sex with men: A cross-sectional study” This study looks at the well being of older MSM in China, Hong Kong, & Taiwan. It recommends talking about discrimination when working with MSM, and talking about it directly. When talking about discrimination for older MSM, it might be different from the experience younger MSMs have faced, and intersectionalities are important part of both discrimination and acceptance. Working with LGBTQIA+ individuals to understand the discrimination which they have faced can help you as an agency better support queer people you serve.
Clarke, Burg, & Clarke (2024) “Prioritizing LGBTQ Clients’ Mental Health: How Christian Therapists Resolve Internal Conflicts to Remain Ethical” This study explores how therapists who have been taught that homosexuality is a sin (and gender-fluidity was not even discussed) work with LGBTQIA+ clients. One finding is that education does not seem to help prepare these therapists to work with LGBTQIA+ clients, nor does it prepare therapists to work with nonheteronormative clients (e.g. those in polyamorous relationships). To achieve this, therapists need to be open-minded and self aware to help create the best environment for queer clients. But it is important, both in nonprofit education as well as when working with nonprofit employees, to help them understand how employees upbringing may impact the ways in which they work with queer clients and how to be affirming and supportive. This can create a dialogue for change, as well as better services for LGBTQIA+ individuals.
Thank you for joining me at the rodeo today! As always, let me know if you need a copy of any of these articles. And see below to comment, share, and subscribe. Talk with everyone next week.