Advocacy

The Advocacy Committee was formed in May of 2011, initially spearheaded by former Board member Deborah Cooper. At the time, Marriage Equality was an important issue that affected the rights and well-being of same-sex couples in our society. Gaylesta members felt that it was vitally important for mental health clinicians to advocate for issues that touched the hearts and minds of those we serve. The issues we have worked on affect the very fabric of our existence and our identity as same-sex attracted people and gender diverse people. These have included challenging conversion therapy on many levels, advocating for LGBTQ cultural competency training for mental health professionals, and appreciating and increasing our understanding of the diversity within our LGBTQ communities. Advocacy Committee members continue to identify and work on a variety of activist/advocacy issues of national and international importance. Follow the links within the Advocacy menu to read about some of these issues. 

Feel free to contact us should there be an issue that you would like to bring to the attention of our group of dedicated mental health clinicians. We hope that if there are social issues which are important to you, that you will join our efforts.