In The Trevor Project's 2022 survey of LGBTQ+ youth:

• 45% of respondents had seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year.
• About 1 in 5 transgender and nonbinary youth had attempted suicide.
• Rates of suicidal ideation were higher among respondents of color.
• 60% of respondents who wanted mental health care did not get it.

In other words, the crisis in mental health is even more pronounced among LGBTQ+ youth than in the general population.

However, the survey found that LGBTQ+ young people who felt accepted by their family, school, or community were less likely to report suicidal thinking. 

The REACH Institute supports provision of high-quality mental health care to all youth, and particularly to those who suffer from discrimination and bias. We are committed to empowering clinicians - especially primary care providers, who are likely to see vulnerable young people first and may be their only source of care -to engage in gender-affirming mental health care.

What does gender-affirming care look like in practice? We hosted a webinar last year in which a panel of five experts (including a transgender activist) discussed how to support LGBTQ+ patients in primary care settings. We're making this one-hour webinar available free of charge as part of our observance of Pride Month.

On July 23-24 and on September 10-11, The REACH Institute will offer our course in effective communication, Working with Challenging Patients and Families.

Designed for primary care providers and mental health professionals, this 2-day course offers experiential training to enhance providers’ communication skills - the skills that build trust and engagement. After practicing the techniques taught in this course, providers will be better equipped to enlist families as partners in their child's care. 

The method was developed by Marjorie Heymann, PhD, psychologist and former theater director. She teaches practitioners the strategies actors use to get inside their characters and react in the moment to other characters in a scene.

Here's what past attendees have said:

• "I have used Marjorie Heymann's training for 15 years in many areas of my work.... It helps professionals from many different disciplines and different educational backgrounds, as well as parents, learn how to listen deeply and engage meaningfully with each other."
• "Marjorie’s experiential method is a revolutionary and highly effective way of learning how to really hear, empathize with, and understand our clients."

This course is a phenomenal value at only $200 for 12 hours of training. Continuing medical education credits are available.

REACH in the News

• REACH faculty member Jasmine Reese, MD (pictured here) published an article on assessing and treating eating disorders in Contemporary Pediatrics. 

• Our media release underscores the crisis in pediatric mental health and highlights the Atlanta-area scholarship opportunity (see above) as one part of The REACH Institute's response to this urgent need.

Upcoming Trainings

Check out the trainings we have scheduled this summer and fall:

• Working with Challenging Patients and Families, July 23-24 and September 10-11. Register now for either session 
• Three sessions of Patient-Centered Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care: July 15-17, September 30-October 2, and November 4-6. Register now for any one session 
• CBT for Anxiety in Pediatric Primary Care, July 8. This course is full, but you can join the waitlist for "first dibs" on the next session.

A Note from our CEO