At La Ventana Treatment Programs, we affirm an individual’s gender identity and provide mental health therapy to validate that gender identity.
Gender Identity is who you are. It is the gender you identify with. You many not identify as a cisgender and the gender you identify with is your gender identity.
Gender identity refers to a person’s deeply felt sense of their own gender, which may or may not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. In the 2S/LGBTQIA+ community gender identity encompasses a diverse range of experiences beyond the traditional binary understanding of male and female. Gender identity includes but is not limited to:
Where many people get upset is because things are changing from what they are use to or what they were taught in school with the use of “they” and them” pronouns for a single person. However, if we look back “they” has historically been more grammatically correct in reference to a single person than the pronoun “You” has been.
Pronouns are personal and meaningful. Using the pronouns that someone asks you to call them may help prevent self harm or even suicide. High rates of suicide and mental health concerns among nonbinary and trans people are due to the trauma of existing in a world not built for people who are not cisgender. In certain countries the penalty is death and certain geographical regions in the United States the governments are stripping away the right to make decisions about people’s own body. There is constant barrage of microaggressions and active discrimination and even hatred can hurt.
The importance of calling someone by their pronouns and their chosen name cannot be overstated.
There is much to learn about pronouns and we will discuss in further detail later on in your training.
that is not the norm can be difficult for the 2S/LGBTQIA+ community. Acceptance from family, friends and society at large can be difficult. Hatred from misunderstanding is possible and prejudice is widespread. Some of the issues faced when claiming a sexual identity other than male or female are:
A person’s choice must be respected and if asked by somebody to use their chosen name and pronoun La Ventana staff will respect their choice and use their correct name and pronoun. At La Ventana we affirm and respect our client’s gender identity and meet our clients where they are in their life.
Self-acceptance for the 2S/LGBTQIA+ can be difficult as society’s view may conflict with theirs. Some members take years to reach a self-acceptance of who they are while others may do it much quicker. Social stories told about someone based on their sex assigned at birth by family, school, peers, parents, friends etc. may conflict with their identity. If the social story does not fit with the person it can be difficult to accept the part of oneself that doesn’t fit the mold.
At La Ventana we understand the difficulty of self-acceptance for one’s gender identity and meet the client where they are in their own self-acceptance.
We respect and affirm each person’s gender identity and create an inclusive space that recognizes and celebrates the diversity of gender identity for all of our clients.
