Special guest Sarah Stillwell, LPC, joins us to talk about LGBTQ+ mental health and the importance of affirmative therapy with the SOGI (sexual orientation/gender identity) population in counseling. This episode takes a look at transgender care, political action in Texas, and looks at the impact of mental health needs in the gay community.
Sarah has a specialization in Affirmative Therapy for sexual orientation and gender identity minorities (SOGI) from Southern Methodist University and is currently a PhD student at Texas A&M University-Commerce where her research focuses on Non-Monosexual Erasure.
She, also, works full time as the Clinical Coordinator of Affirmative therapy at a large private counseling practice with 4 locations in the DFW area where she educates and supervises other clinicians on how to be an affirmative therapist. Sarah is also a gender-affirming mental health provider who provides one-time assessments for letters of clearance for medical and legal gender transitions. She is also knowledgeable of pagan practices, polyam-affirmative, and kink-aware so she also works with counseling clients in these populations to provide a safe space to promote good mental health and healthy relationships.
Due to her passion for the SOGI community, she is also a volunteer leader with multiple divisions of the Texas Counseling Association (TCA), primarily the Texas Counselors for Social Justice (TxCSJ) and the Texas branch of the Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities (TxSAIGE). With her connection to TCA, she has completed advocacy work in Texas for issues that impact counseling clients identifying as SOGI and the mental health field.