Supports for Your Work with LGBTQ+ Clients
Although this page is directed to therapists, everyone is welcome to read & learn more about our exercises!
We are LGBTQ+ and affirmative researchers at the University of Massachusetts Boston who are developing empirically-based online exercises to help sexual and gender minority people heal from and develop responses to experiences of heterosexism, bi+ phobia, and transphobia in their lives. The exercises are embedded in research (so we can continue to improve them) and are intended for people who are LGBTQ, over 18 (or the legal age of majority in their state), and not actively in crisis. They would need to have an email account and access to a computer or tablet to engage in the exercises. Also, they should be fluent in reading and writing English (although we are working on translations). Please click on the questions below to learn more.
If you think the writing exercises sound appropriate for your clients, you can share the the website with them and suggest that they consider the exercises to support the process of making meaning of and reflecting on troubling stigma-related experiences between sessions. Remember that just because someone is LGBTQ+ doesn’t mean that they are interested in processing experiences of heterosexism, bi+ phobia, or transphobia, but if they are, these exercises offer a way to support or supplement that work. You or clients can check out the exercises and learn more via the links on our Grow page.
To learn more about the research that these exercises are based upon, please see the bibliography on our About our Research webpage.
Note: This website offers resources and exercises for LGBTQ+ people who have experienced heterosexism and transphobia that is troubling, but who are not in crisis. These Crisis & Hotline Resources might provide some immediate help in case of crisis: Click here. If your client is in a potentially life-threatening situation or another person may be in danger, don’t recommend this site. Instead, you might advise them to go to their local hospital emergency room or call a crisis helpline.