Gender Archives - National Wraparound Initiative (NWI)
How to Find a Therapist for Your LGBTQ+ Child
March 22, 2025 | NWI
Being LGBTQ+ is not a mental disorder, but LGBTQ+ young people are at higher risk for anxiety, depression and suicide due to the stigma, shame and discrimination they often face. Working with an LGBTQ+ affirming therapist can help young people explore their identities. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of mental health professionals trained to understand the issues facing LGBTQ+ young people. This brief examines how to find an appropriate therapist.
Needed: Suicide Prevention for Sexual and Gender Diverse Youth
December 7, 2024 | NWI
This new study analyzes six years of multistate child death review data from the United States, finding that 81% of sexual and gender diverse youth in the dataset died by suicide, despite many receiving current or prior mental health services.
Better Research Needed To Solve the LGBTQ Youth Mental Health Crisis
September 24, 2023 | NWI
This opinion piece from Scientific American notes that young people do not fall into neat categories of race, sexual orientation or gender identity, and argues that research into LGBTQ mental health must take a more nuanced approach.
Evidence and Action to Support and Affirm LGBTQI+
April 21, 2023 | NWI
This report from SAMHSA provides behavioral health professionals, researchers, policymakers and other audiences with a comprehensive research overview and accurate information about effective and ineffective therapeutic practices related to youth of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity.
Long-Term Outcomes from Gender-Affirming Hormones
October 24, 2022 | NWI
According to a new Dutch study, years after young teens initiate puberty suppression and hormone treatment, nearly all continue to embrace the transition process as young adults.
Girls and Young Women More Likely to Drink Alcohol
May 13, 2022 | NWI
For at least the past two decades, data showed that boys and young men were more likely to drink than girls and young women. However, data now show that girls and young women, ages 12 to 20, are drinking more alcohol than their male counterparts. Alcohol use by people under the legal drinking age of 21 has decreased over the past few decades, but the decreases have been more pronounced for males than females. In 2020, more girls and young women reported past-month alcohol use than boys and young men.
Fear of Coming Out for LGBTQ+ Youth in Foster Care
November 14, 2021 | NWI
This editorial in USA Today argues that, for many LGBTQ+ young people living in foster care, celebrating their identity openly could have dire consequences. It is fear of these consequences that silences LGBTQ+ young people and creates an invisible population that is overrepresented in foster care.
LGBTQ Youth Mental Health: Trevor Project Survey Highlights Disparities
June 13, 2021 | NWI
The Trevor Project — the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for young LGBTQ people — has published the results of its third annual national survey on the mental health of LGBTQ youth. The findings reveal the consequences of the ongoing pandemic and call for urgent policy solutions to curb a mental health crisis.
Video Reviews Terminology Important When Working With LGBTQ+
June 13, 2021 | NWI
This educational animated short, created by the Center of Excellence on LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Equity, reviews basic terminology that is important to know when working with people who have diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, or expressions.
Experiences and Well-Being of Sexual and Gender Diverse Youth in Foster Care
December 2, 2020 | NWI
This is the first survey to report on the proportion of youth in foster care in New York City who are LGBTQAI+ and differences in their experiences compared to those of youth who are not LGBTQAI+. This survey was commissioned by the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), which is committed to serving youth in foster care that are LGBTQAI+. This report provides the detailed findings from this survey.