Fabiola Rivas discovered she was a lesbian in 2019 when she was in middle school.
Rivas, now 18, said she felt isolated and alone and sought therapy. However, there were limited resources available in her hometown of Melbourne, Florida, to address the questions and concerns many LGBTQ people face when coming out. Rivas said she only knew one mental health facility that offered LGBTQ-specific services, but it was too expensive for her family.
With students confined to their homes and Rivas describing her mental health as “downhill,” it’s the first time the coronavirus pandemic has set her family on access to affordable telemedicine. They found a donor, a psychiatrist in Venezuela, where Rivas’ family is from. She got the support she needed.
“I was really, really isolated,” recalls Rivas. He is currently an advocate for the It Gets Better Project, an advocacy group for LGBTQ youth. “I felt like I was pretending for other people, and I really felt like my friends weren’t really my friends.”
Rivas’ experience seeking mental health treatment is not unique: study Published in JAMA Pediatrics Journal A June study found that in 2020, more mental health facilities in the United States will provide children and adolescents with services specifically designed for LGBTQ patients, such as coming-out support, sexual orientation counseling, and gender-affirmation therapy. It was found that less than 1 in 3 facilities did. Based on population, all 50 states had fewer than 10 facilities with LGBTQ services per 100,000 children.
LGBTQ community ‘certainly in crisis, especially among young people’ Rep. Richie Torres of New York, the first openly gay man in Congress, an Afro-Latino, told NBC News in an email. “Seeking help is a sign of strength, but we must ensure that adequate resources are available for those in need.”
Kristen Choi, lead author of the study, an adolescent psychiatric nurse and medical services researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the number of mental health facilities in the United States trained to serve LGBTQ youth is six. He said it hasn’t grown much over the years.Up from 25% of all facilities In 2014, it was just 28%; in 2020, it will be just 28%.
She said mental health resources are very important for LGBTQ youth. They face much higher rates of poor mental health when compared to their heterosexual peers, she said. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It was disappointing to see,” Choi said after analyzing data from the Ministry of Health and Human Services. National Mental Health Services Survey. According to her, many health care providers and organizations are not necessarily trained or equipped to interact with her LGBTQ children in sensitive, positive and appropriate ways.
“Lottery luck”
Alex Tilinka, 22, of Long Island, New York, is no stranger to finding the right mental health services.
Tilinka, a transgender man, started transitioning when he was 11 years old. His family initially found him as a therapist, but the therapist did not specialize in his LGBTQ care.
He said the therapist had a transgender friend and knew about agencies that helped transgender teens, so he was finally able to get the help he needed. Tilinka was later able to start testosterone treatment and underwent upper surgery when she was 16. Now an adult, he works as a coach and competitive bodybuilder, helping others feel confident in their bodies.
“Honestly, I was lucky that they knew someone who was transgender personally and because of that they knew their therapist,” he said. “It was really bad luck to draw.”
Torres spoke out about her experience with depression and her struggles to find adequate mental health care, saying, “Coming out as gay has helped me deal with my mental health issues. I’ve become more open about it,” he said.
In June, Torres joined Rep. Eric Sorensen (Illinois) and Rep. introduced Pride in Mental Health Lawwhich aim to improve access to mental health resources and Provide caregiver training tailored to the needs of LGBTQ youth. It also includes guidelines for preventing bullying in schools.
Torres said the bill “is an important step in the right direction to address LGBTQI+ mental health.”
Improved access
Jonah Dechanz, a researcher at the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth advocacy group, said being LGBTQ can be “very stressful,” especially in the current political climate in the United States. said.
In June, the Supreme Court reversed LGBTQ rights by ruling in favor of an evangelical Christian web designer from Colorado who refuses to work for same-sex marriages. According to the American Library Association, there are increasing attempts to ban LGBTQ-themed books in schools.
DeChanz said the organization is always listening to young people seeking mental health care resources.
Recent National survey According to a study by The Trevor Project, 60% of LGBTQ youth seeking mental health care in 2021 will not receive it, including nearly three in five transgender and nonbinary people. rice field.
Dechanz said improving access to LGBTQ care can be challenging as it requires specific forms of training. “And we want to make sure that people going into that space are qualified,” he said.
Rivas, who graduated from high school this spring, plans to attend college and said he is considering a major in clinical psychology.
She encouraged other LGBTQ people facing mental health issues to find a community where they could.
“It’s very difficult to find people,” Rivas said, adding that he eventually found solace in slam poetry groups and the It Gets Better Project.
