By Judith A. Cohen and Caitlin Ryan, Psychiatric Times, June 25, 2021
Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth experience the same types of traumas as their non-SGM peers, including child maltreatment, domestic and community violence, accidents, traumatic death, and separation. SGM youth are also at elevated risk for stressors common among minorities. Furthermore, these youth experience distinct ongoing stress related to discriminatory societal, medical, educational, housing, employment and/or legal attitudes, norms and/or practices, among others. In addition, SGM youth are at increased risk for traumas that are specifically related to their sexual orientation, gender identity ,and/or expression. They may be bullied, sexually or physically assaulted, or rejected by their parents. Thus, these youth are at significantly greater risk for cumulative trauma exposure, and for developing the negative mental health and medical problems related to stigma, minority stress, and trauma.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based treatment for trauma-impacted youth, aged 3 to 17 years, and their nonoffending parents or primary caregivers. With 23 randomized controlled trials assessing efficacy, TF-CBT has the strongest evidence for improving youth posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis or symptoms, as well as trauma-related depressive, anxiety, behavioral, or cognitive difficulties.
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