Sexual Minority Youth: A Summary

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In regard to oppression, the fifth guideline holds that psychologists should recognize how stigma, prejudice, discrimination, and violence can affect the health and well-being of sexual minority youth.
Sixth, psychologists should strive to recognize the influence of institutional barriers on the lives of sexual minority youth and assist in developing trans-affirmative environments. Seventh, psychologists should understand the need to promote social change in order to reduce the negative effects of stigma on the health and wellbeing of sexual minority youth. There are several more guidelines that the APA (2013) offers, however the ones previously mentioned speak more to the importance of the therapist understanding the implications of oppression and microaggressions on sexual minority youth. Sexual minority youth are at higher
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The authors argue that gay affirmative cognitive behavioral therapy is an appropriate route to take with sexual minority youth because first, it focuses on changing maladaptive behaviors by changing problematic ways of thinking. This approach would address the internalization of homophobia that negatively impacts many sexual minority youth. Second, CBT allows the client to see how their thoughts impact their behaviors. This is particularly important for sexual minority youth as many have learned to rely on unhealthy coping mechanisms (such as substance abuse, disordered eating, delinquency, etc) as a result of their feelings of fear, shame, and guilt. This approach would address the maladaptive thoughts and beliefs about one’s own identity and replace them with more proactive coping skills to deal with stressors. Both of these approaches facilitate the use of positive thinking, which in turn, can facilitate healthy emotional and behavioral functioning among sexual minority