Speaking Up & Speaking Out: Using Our Voices for Meaningful Change

In my experience as a Ph.D. student in clinical health psychology, it is common knowledge in the field that homosexuality was “dropped” from the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1973. It’s a decision that, in 2021, sounds like a no-brainer. It seems almost inconceivable today that a respected scientific organization would consider homosexuality to be a mental illness and treat it as such. Yet nearly 50 years later, the sociopolitical context and key players involved in this decision are rarely discussed and therefore, not widely known.

Moving from Crisis to Continuum: Nurturing Veteran Well-being

As a graduate student researcher and practitioner in clinical psychology, discussions about how to meet the unique mental health needs of veterans and service members arise frequently. However, these conversations often center on responding to crisis situations, rather than envisioning how we might prevent them. I believe that by understanding what veteran mental health looks like across a continuum, we can better understand how to support veteran well-being.

Global Alliance at the UN High Level Meeting for HIV/AIDS and Side Events

The United Nations High Level Meeting (UNHLM) for HIV/AIDS and side events were held virtually from June 8-11 2021.  During the HLM, world leaders in the General Assembly adopted the Political Declaration which pledged urgent, transformative action to stop the global AIDS epidemic.  

Integrating Mental Health is Critical to Overcoming Inequities and Ending AIDS

Now is the Time: Ending Stigma Around Mental Illness and Improving Mental Health 

An Intern’s Experience at the 2021 UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS

I could have never imagined that I would be able to attend an official United Nations High-Level Meeting as an undergraduate. 

During Mental Health Month, the Global Alliance co-sponsored Youth Well-Being in a Digital World: The Roles of Schools and Communities along with:

It’s that time of year where longer days and warmer weather means summer is here. Have you been spending time outdoors?

New leadership plays a highly influential role in mapping the future of the Pride Movement and fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Meet 5 young, up-and-coming activists to follow as they lead the next generation of Pride.

As adults who identify as LGBTQ+ age, they face several unique and challenging issues related to older adulthood, leading to social, economic, and health disparities. A recent national study found that aging adults in the LGBTQ+ community face greater levels of depression, loneliness, disability and social isolation, putting this population at increased risk for mental and physical health conditions. These findings are consistent with a growing number of studies demonstrating the health impact of the systemic oppression of the LGBTQ+ community as individuals reach older age. The “shifting contexts” of aging adults identifying as LGBTQ+ leave many older individuals vulnerable to a variety of health and social issues. As the circumstances of daily living, social life, and healthcare change throughout older age, adults in the LGBTQ+ community face fewer opportunities to maintain their health and greater barriers to achieving well-being.