A majority of LGBTQ students in every state except two said they sought mental health care but were unable to access it, according to a Trevor Project report. The Trevor Project report, which was published Dec. 15, is based on the organization’s 2022 survey of nearly 34,000 LGBTQ people ages 13 to 24. It comes as state legislatures across the country have introduced bills that target LGBTQ students by restricting access to books about LGBTQ topics, limiting participation on team sports, and not offering restrooms that align with their gender identity.
The results point to “systemic barriers in accessing critical mental health care for these young people, who already face a large number of mental health challenges and increased suicide risk,” said Keygan Miller, a public training manager at The Trevor Project.
Schools play a big role in ensuring LGBTQ students have access to supportive spaces and the mental health care they want and need, according to experts. The Trevor Project’s previous research has found that LGBTQ students who have access to LGBTQ-affirming schools report better mental health outcomes and lower rates of attempting suicide, Miller said.
“The reason it is so imperative for schools to be an affirming space is [because] school is the only place that young people have to go,” said Amy Cannava, the appointed chair of the National Association of School Psychologists’ LGBTQ+ committee and a school practitioner in Virginia. “Because they have to be there, it becomes our obligation to act, following what is considered to be empirically validated best practices, which is to be affirming. They legally have a right to be in a place that is safe and supportive and not going to endanger their mental or physical health.”
Read more at EDWeek.org.
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