Supporting Youth Safety When Family Acceptance Is Uncertain: A Training for Professionals on Responding When Coming Out Becomes a Crisis

Objectives:

1. Explore how unspoken expectations or value-based judgments can contribute to a youth’s decision to stay hidden, increasing feelings of shame, fear, and isolation.

2. Promote self-awareness in providers as a critical step toward creating safe, affirming environments, where LGBTQ+ youth feel seen, supported, and free to live authentically

3. Increase providers’ skills, such as using Motivational Interviewing, to hold space with caregivers when acceptance is uncertain and create more safety when youth are experiencing mental health crises.