Identities and Expression Track (LGBTQ+)

If you are an adult struggling with a mental health condition and identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it is essential to prioritize your mental wellbeing. Unfortunately, members of the LBGTQ+ community may face discrimination, prejudge, or rejection from their family, and that can lead to stress, anxiety, or depression.

According to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, LBGTQ adults are more likely than others to have mental health or substance use problems. This same report goes on to list several disheartening statistics, including:

• According to the U.S. Transgender Survey, 40 percent of transgender adults have attempted suicide during their lifetime, compared to less than five percent of the US population as a whole.
• In 2015, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that one in three LGBQ adults experienced mental illness in 2015, compared with only one in five heterosexual adults (Medley 2016).
• The NSDUH found that 15 percent of LGBQ adults had an alcohol or drug use disorder in the past year, compared to eight percent of heterosexual adults (Medley 2016).

Overcoming Stigma

The need for mental health treatment is already stigmatized in our society. For example, men are taught to “toughen up” and that expressing sadness or fear is “not masculine”. This is just one example of course, and thankfully this toxic behavior is beginning to fade in more progressive areas, as we seek to be more understanding of others, but there’s still more progress to be made. Members of the LBGTQ+ community often face a ‘double stigma’, based on their sexual/gender identity, and stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment.

Silver Oaks Behavioral Hospital recognizes the diversity of LGBTQ+ families and their specific needs. Our Identities and Expressions track provides guidance in developing coping skills, life balance and other tools needed for support and healthy living. Our facility wants to be an ally to those facing stigma, and our Identities and Expression Therapy track include the following resources:

• Health education
• LGBTQ+ issues
• HIV and chronic illness
• Trauma
• Grief and loss
• Body image group
• Transgender support group
• Relapse prevention
• Cognitive skills education
• Anger management
• Relational and sexual health
• Family Support Group

At Silver Oaks Behavioral Hospital, we want to be an ally to the LGTQ+ community. Our inpatient mental health program is designed with the patient’s best interests first. Our team will work with your loved one to ensure healthy behaviors are learned and encouraged, even after treatment has ended. Our mission is to create a safe space where patients have the freedom to openly express themselves and discuss issues they’re facing, without prejudice. If you or a loved one is in need of help, please call us at (844) 580-5000.