UW Health’s Post

My Story: Helping You Find Your Voice As a first-generation Latinx, LGBTQIA+ woman, I bring cultural humility to my practice. I grew up in a multigenerational household emphasizing the importance of education, community, and family values (e.g., familismo, personalismo). As a counselor, I prioritize my client's safety and the therapeutic relationship, checking in along the way to honor their shared narratives. In our sessions, my goal is to create a space where you feel listened to, understood, and ultimately accepted for everything you are. I will meet you without judgment, preconceptions, or assumptions. You will have my full presence and attention. Through our collaboration, I hope to peel back the layers and tap into the profound depths of your lived experiences and generational wisdom, revealing the multifaceted essence of generational strength that makes you uniquely human. In our work together, I will reflect on what I clinically understand of your shared experiences to validate all aspects of your journey and identity. Creating a space where individuals feel visible is what fuels me in this profession. From my experience in being a part of and serving underrepresented groups, I understand how healing it can be to have someone bear compassionate witness to life’s challenges and our strengths - especially when we cannot see them ourselves. My superpower as a counselor is presence. I will show up authentically and be fully there for you. You are seen. You matter. Let’s talk. #FirstGenerationCounselor #Latinx #LGBTQIA  #CulturalHumility #Multicultural #RepresentationMatters #FamilismoValues #Personalismo #CulturallyResponsive  #TherapeuticPresence #ClientCentered #CollaborativeApproach #HonoredNarratives #JudgementFreeZone #SafeSpace #UncoveringGenerationalStrength #BeingSeenAndHeard #CompassionateWitness #PresenceIsPowerful #UnderrepresentedVoices #IdentityAffirmation #YouMatter #LetsTalk #Therapy #Counseling #TheIntentionalConversation

Read about the courageous journey of coming out as Gay in old age. This article celebrates the stories of older individuals who have come out as gay and embraced their authentic selves. These individuals have navigated a lifetime of challenges and have emerged as beacons of courage and resilience. Their stories teach us the importance of inclusivity and acceptance in our society, no matter one's age or sexual orientation. They remind us that it is never too late to live a life true to who you are, and that the transformative power of embracing authenticity knows no bounds. By sharing these stories and celebrating the triumphs of older individuals who have come out, we can create a more accepting and inclusive society for all. Let us embrace authenticity, celebrate diversity, and support one another on our collective journey towards a more compassionate world. https://lnkd.in/d2cJneky

Happy Pride month! I've been trying to write this post for ages, because my relationship with pride has always been odd. I dislike the version of pride that commercialised and has all the rough edges smoothed off. Yes we deserve to celebrate and be happy, but also we can do that in ways that are have less capitalism vibes. This is also a lil introduction/reminder: My name's Gem, I am bisexual and non-binary, and my pronouns are they/them. Let's talk about community. Since being self-employed I've found a lot of community with fellow queer folk. I've done some work with Sparkle (a trans charity), a queer arts market, and I co-work with a MCR based queer co-working group semi-regularly (I want to get back to that being actually regularly soon). Finding this community has been so important - going from working in a tight knit company to working solo was a big change, and being around other folks working has been vital for me. Spending more time around queer folk is important to me on multiple levels. It's a community I want to spend time serving, and engaging with, and being self-employed has given me time and opportunities to do so. It's also nice to feel belonging, and acceptance fully. It's not a place where some people will use my pronouns and some won't, generally. I can assume people will read my pronoun pin and use them. I don't actually mind being misgendered a lot of the time, because I wear dresses and people make assumptions, but being in a space where I can fully expect people to use the correct pronouns without correction is such a relief. This is why community is important, and why I want to support and serve communities where people can be together. Happy Pride, folks.

Are we all crazy? After my awakening to my fanatical attitudes about gay people, I realized that many parents reject their gay children for different reasons. ☢ I was rigid. ☢ I refused the love of my child because he was gay. ☢ I was…crazy. As parents, we have hopes and dreams for our children. We teach them what we believe is right and wrong. But it's not that simple. We live in the gray areas. To better understand myself, I spoke with over 50 parents who had also rejected their gay children and were trying to reconcile their attitudes. We were all trying to accept the revelation that our kids would live different lives than we planned. At first, I assumed all parents were like me—unbending in my expectations of life's outcomes. I learned there is no single, universal cause for this rejection. 🌈 Yes, some parents were inflexible, their views rooted in religious or ideological convictions. 🌈 Others were selfish, fearing their child would give them a grandchild. 🌈 And many feared ridicule for their children (or themselves). The only true commonality is the amount of energy spent maintaining this emotional energy, investing in the assumption that there is only one way to live: the right way, their way. While it is easy to assume that straightforward prejudice drives rejection, the reality is far more nuanced and underscores the multifaceted nature of parental rejection of LGBTQ+ children. Comfort levels with diversity play a crucial role. Some parents admit they feel uncomfortable with people who are different from them. This discomfort, sadly, extends to their children, leading to a rejection based on unfamiliarity and fear rather than outright hatred. The challenge is less about moral or familial expectations and more about personal comfort. I realized we all have buttons that control our comfort. Each parent's story is unique, shaped by personal beliefs, societal pressures, and individual experiences. I can only hope that continuing to share my story—as uncomfortable as it is—will help other families seek to understand and work towards building a more supportive and accepting environment for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families. Love is love. Love should always win. 

I have this disclaimer at the bottom of my website's About page. I like to let my potential clients know what they're getting when they work with me. IMPORTANT: As a company, and as a human, I believe Black Lives Matter; I stand for LGBTQIA+ rights; I donate to Planned Parenthood; I educate myself, invest in, am committed to, and work to bring a wider inclusive and intersectional business to the world. This includes, but is not limited to, race, sexuality, gender, (dis)ability (including physical and mental health, and neurodiversity), religion, parenthood/non-parenthood, and those with caring responsibilities.

Let’s Get REAL 📢 : Do you know Audre Lorde? You should. We all should know her name— she was foundational to the movement of intersectional experience and a warrior in the fight for feminism and #LGBTQ issues as much as she was in the battles for civil rights. More #blackhistory lessons here today, especially in #wellbeing and #mentalhealth. 🌟 Setting Boundaries for Self-Preservation: Audre Lorde Audre Lorde was an American writer, professor, philosopher, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, mother, warrior, poet" who dedicated her life and talents to confronting all forms of injustice, as she believed there could be "no hierarchy of oppressions". As a poet, she is well known for technical mastery and emotional expression, as well as her poems that express anger and outrage at civil and social injustices she observed throughout her life. Audre Lorde's advocacy for #selfcare and setting #boundaries is a powerful reminder of the importance of self-preservation, especially for those fighting for change. Her work underscores the notion that caring for oneself is an act of political warfare— Wow. This concept aligns so well with Your REAL Life especially the importance of setting healthy boundaries for mental health and well-being. Audre was at the forefront of understanding wellbeing is intersectional, as are adversities. 📚 Inspired by Lorde, let us prioritize our well-being and set boundaries that allow us to thrive in our personal and professional lives. 💡 Takeaway Tip from Your REAL Life: As we go into the weekend, evaluate your current boundaries and make one change starting next week to better support your mental health and productivity. #SelfCare #Resilience #AudreLorde #SettingBoundaries #development #ProfessionalWellbeing Photo Credit: Penguin Books via Oprah Magazine.

This is a great article that takes the conversation way past the rainbow and focuses on the core issues of rights and freedom!

My husband, Jamison Green, PhD, has made history in the trans community and beyond. His groundbreaking work has impacted the lives of trans men especially, the trans community at large, and touched the hearts of many more. Check out this article to learn more about his incredible accomplishments. Trust me, it's worth the read! #transvisibility #transrights #LGBTQIA+

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 How you perceive others says more about you than them. When you interact with another person, you are making conscious and unconscious choices about that interaction. But they are your choices. Your opinion of the other person is based on your perceptions, not on what they actually are. 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲. #Inclusion #Divesity #CulturalIntelligence