The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has released a new “practice parameter” for supporting children and adolescents who may be LGBT or gender-nonconforming. What follows is a list of principles designed to help mental health professionals maximize health outcomes for LGBT youth by discussing and affirming their identities:

1. A comprehensive diagnostic evaluation should include an age-appropriate assessment of psychosexual development for all youths.
2. The need for confidentiality in the clinical alliance is a special consideration in the assessment of sexual and gender minority youth.
3. Family dynamics pertinent to sexual orientation, gender nonconformity, and gender identity should be explored in the context of the cultural values of the youth, family and community
4. Clinicians should inquire about circumstances commonly encountered by youth with sexual and gender minority status that confer increased psychiatric risk.
5. Clinicians should aim to foster healthy psychosexual development in sexual and gender minority youth and protect the individual’s full capacity for integrated identity formation and adaptive functioning.
6. Clinicians should be aware that there is no evidence that sexual orientation can be altered through therapy, and that attempts to do so may be harmful.
7. Clinicians should be aware of current evidence on the natural course of gender discordance and associated psychopathology in children and adolescents in choosing the treatment goals and modality.
8. Clinicians should be prepared to consult and act as a liaison with schools, community agencies, and other health care providers, advocating for the unique needs of sexual and gender minority youth and their families.
9. Mental health professionals should be aware of community and professional resources relevant to sexual and gender minority youth.

AACAP’s principles reflect the trove of research demonstrating that LGBT people are happier and healthier when their identities are affirmed. Given the high rates of bullying and family rejection young people often experience, it’s particularly keen that child psychiatrists translate this information into sensitive, attuned counseling responses.

Julea Ward

At question in Michigan is whether or not a Christian counseling student should be required to provide support to gay clients in violation of their religious beliefs. This week, the Michigan House passed HB 5040, the “Julea Ward Freedom Of Conscience Act,” which gives college students a pass from providing any kind of counseling that compromises their religious beliefs, including affirming gay clients:

A public degree or certificate granting college, university, junior college, or community college of this state shall not discipline or discriminate against a student in a counseling, social work, or psychology program because the student refuses to counsel or serve a client as to goals, outcomes, or behaviors that conflict with a sincerely held religious belief of the student, if the student refers the client to a counselor who will provide the counseling or services.

Julea Ward’s story doesn’t hold much merit for the issue at stake. She sued Eastern Michigan University after she was kicked out of her counseling graduate program — she refused to affirm a client’s gay orientation because it “goes against what the Bible says.” A federal district court judge dismissed her suit, ruling that the university “had a right and duty” to enforce the professional ethic rules that dictate its counseling accreditation. He added that Ward’s dismissal “was entirely due” to her “refusal to change her behavior” rather than her beliefs. The 11th Circuit similarly ruled against Jennifer Keeton, who experienced a similar situation at Augusta State University in Georgia, stating that “counselors must refrain from imposing their moral and religious values on their clients.”

By advancing this legislation, Michigan lawmakers are essentially attempting to circumvent — if not dictate — counseling ethical standards. While it’s very true that in a professional setting, a Christian counselor could defer a gay client to another counselor, there’s no guarantee that they will. Even the very act of deferring could add to the stigma and harm the client is already experiencing, let alone the potential that harmful ex-gay therapy might be offered instead. The ethical standards exist for a reason, and should HB 5040 become law, it would compromise the integrity of all counseling programs in the state of Michigan.

As activist Wayne Besen pointed when the legislation was first introduced, “counseling should be about the client, not the self-serving needs of the therapist.” But Michigan lawmakers have made clear this year how little concern they have for gay citizens. In December, they banned all domestic partnerships, and in November, they almost created a “license to bully” in schools. Through it all, Gov. Rick Snyder (R) has refused to even meet with LGBT press outlets.

A Queens, New York fifth-grader named Kameron Slade won a class competition and was slated to deliver a speech as part of a school-wide competition at PS 195. However, because Kameron’s speech was to be about same-sex marriage, his principal told him he would be removed from the contest if he did not choose a different topic. Here are some excerpts from Kameron’s “inappropriate” speech:

SLADE: Some people are for same-gender marriage, while others are against it. Like President Obama, I believe that all people should have the right to marry whoever they want. Marriage is about love, support, and commitment. So who are we to judge? If we judge people like this, this is a form of prejudice. We must learn to accept all differences.[...]

My mom is very open to me about same-gender marriage. However, some adults may feel uncomfortable and think it’s inappropriate to talk about this to children. I think adults must realize that as children get older, they become aware of these mature issues that are going on in the world. If children read or watch the news, they can learn about things like same-gender marriage, so what’s the point in trying to hide it?

In conclusion, I hope that everyone understands how important it is to respect everyone for who they are. Same-gender marriage is becoming more popular. I believe that same-gender marriage should be accepted worldwide and that parents and teachers should start to discuss these issues without shame to their children.

Watch Kameron read his full speech, courtesy of NY1:

Some parents agreed with the principal that the topic was an “adult conversation” that didn’t belong in school, but Kameron’s own speech addresses this hollow complaint. In addition to the fact that young people can easily learn about this issue from the President of the United States, many are bound to encounter same-sex families among their friends and classmates. To censor such topics is an attempt to erase gay and lesbian people from communities entirely.

Numerous studies have found that schools are safer for LGBT students when curricula are LGBT-inclusive. Young Slade should be applauded for doing for his peers what his school community refuses to do. Supposedly, he will have the opportunity to give this speech in some sort of different assembly, but in the meantime, he is preparing a speech for the competition about preventing animal cruelty.