NCJ Number
245805
Date Published
2014
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This document provides advice to practitioners working with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) youth and their families.
Abstract
This resource guide was produced with funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to provide advice and assistance to service providers working with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) youth and their families. The primary focus of the guide is to help families support their LGBT children and not get them to change their values or deeply-held beliefs. The approach used in the guide, the family intervention approach, is based on research that found that family reactions to their LGBT children are more varied and hopeful than expected, that parents and caregivers play a critical role in their LGBT children's health and well-being, and that families and caregivers can act as allies in reducing risk and creating a healthy future for their LGBT children. The framework discussed in this resource guide contains several key approaches that can help families learn to support their LGBT children. These approaches include engaging, approaching, and connecting with families and caregivers "where they are" and viewing them as an ally in working with their children; providing families with respectful language to talk about sexual orientation and gender identify; letting parents and caregivers tell their story; and educating families on how both family rejecting behaviors and supportive and accepting behaviors can affect their children. The guide also provides information on basic steps that can be implemented now that will enable families to respond to the needs of their LGBT children. Endnotes and references