Event: CASC Conference 2018
Presentation Title: Promoting Safety, Inclusion, and Well-Being for LGBTQ Students
Presenter: Vincent Pompei, Ed.D - Director, Youth Well-Being Project
Presentation Date: Friday, October 19th, 2018
The session I attended covered how school counselors can support LGBTQ students and strategies we can use to create and foster a school culture that is safe and inclusive for them. I decided to participate in this because we do not discuss this group very much in our program and I wanted to learn how to better support my students. In addition, I have looked at data and have learned that a large percentage of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, face higher rates of bullying and harassment, and higher rates of attempting and completing suicide. I wanted to equip myself with knowledge about best practices for ensuring their protection and build upon my current skills to work towards transforming our schools to be inclusive of our LGBTQ students.
We covered best practices for legal and ethical protections of our LGBTQ students that I was not very aware of. With this knowledge, I feel I am better able to advocate for things such as single user restrooms (AB 1732), their ability to change their name on unofficial records (AB 1266), and for policies around anti-bullying to be inclusive to LGBTQ students (Seth’s Law: AB 9). In addition, we discussed the importance of counselors working with students and being visible and vocal allies, especially since data has shown that from 12,000 LGBTQ youth surveyed, only 15% felt comfortable talking to their counselors about their identity.
We covered best practices for legal and ethical protections of our LGBTQ students that I was not very aware of. With this knowledge, I feel I am better able to advocate for things such as single user restrooms (AB 1732), their ability to change their name on unofficial records (AB 1266), and for policies around anti-bullying to be inclusive to LGBTQ students (Seth’s Law: AB 9). In addition, we discussed the importance of counselors working with students and being visible and vocal allies, especially since data has shown that from 12,000 LGBTQ youth surveyed, only 15% felt comfortable talking to their counselors about their identity.
As counselors, we are called to advocate and support students that are LGBTQ and transgender/gender non-conforming. The session called for us to explore intersectionality with students and work through the “isms” and “phobias”. Furthermore, we learned about gender support plans and gender transition plans, and focusing on identifying which steps will create the necessary conditions to make each student’s experience as positive as possible. As part of the process, counselors should go over the students’ rights and create a tailored gender transition/support plan for those transitioning. This is appropriate for children at any level, but it will be important to use developmentally appropriate lessons and material to also bring awareness and space for a student’s identity and transition. However, it is equally important to keep this information confidential if the family and/or child requests it, unless a counselor believes it is important for a particular person to know the student’s transgender status, but should raise that concern during the planning process.
There are various strategies, steps, and techniques counselors can use when working with LGBTQ students, however, I believe a lot of the intervention will happen within the school itself, in addition to with specific students. Counselors should reflect on the school climate and culture with staff and how biases and prejudice may impact them, we must talk about it. We must work to affirm complex identities and support student resilience. Through scheduled annual trainings for staff and discussions about embracing diversity, we can foster a positive and inclusive culture where LGBTQ students thrive and feel supported. Some strategies I took from the session are:
Crystal King San Diego State University Graduate Student
- Using restorative practices that allow for education and growth in our students as opposed to zero-tolerance policies
- Use pronouns on signatures (can help start conversations)
- Update forms, student/staff handbooks, etc to be LGBTQ inclusive
- Encourage and support GSA’s and other LGBTQ inclusive clubs on campus
- Strengths-based counseling when working with students 1-1
- Educating about the difference between: gender, sexual orientation, and gender expression
All these strategies can be implemented and used at any level and context. The effectiveness can be seen in data we as counselors should already be monitoring and collecting, such as CHKS (sense of belonging in school), qualitative data gathering (possible focus groups), nature of bullying incidents, etc….
A counseling theory I came across in conversation with someone at the session was affirmative therapy: an approach that embraces a positive view of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) identities and relationships, and addresses the negative influences that homophobia, transphobia, and heterosexism have on the lives of LGBTQ youth. I had never heard of this but was instantly enticed and wanted to learn more about it and how to implement this into my counseling practice. In addition, I also thought about ecological systems theory and working with students to identify the strengths within their systems and empower them, but also working with them to acknowledge and examine the barriers to become better equipped to thrive in environments and around people who might not be supportive, such as families. Lastly, when thinking about my high school students, especially seniors, and the importance of sense of belonging and community, I thought about Multicultural Narrative Career Counseling and about how a narrative influences the career decision process and is often related to culturally specific factors that shape aspirations and a potential range of career choices. Counselors should consider the cultural persona and encourage students to reflect on their cultural identity when it comes to career counseling. At the session, we were given a database that I had never heard of but will definitely be using with students who are looking for a university that is deemed a safe space for LGBTQ students. The website is Campus Pride and can be used when working with students in the college and career domain.
This has been one of the best professional development sessions I have attended. My biggest take away was that we need to advocate and protect ALL. Our students can not continue to live in a world where they need fight to exist. Lastly, we must be open to leaning on our students for solutions because they have powerful voices and solutions.
Resources:
- Upcoming Conference: https://timetothrive.org/ (20% Off Promo Code: AnaheimThrive2019
- The Trevor Project: Free Posters
- Reading: Schools In Transition
- ASCA Position Statements:
Crystal King San Diego State University Graduate Student
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