EDGY Conference

Deborah Buttitta- Headshot
Deborah Buttitta
Psy.D., LMFT
California State University, Northridge (CSUN)
Deborah Buttitta
Deborah J. Buttitta, PsyD, LMFT, is an assistant professor and AAMFT-approved supervisor in the Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) program at California State University, Northridge. She has been in clinical practice for over 25 years and has extensive experience educating, training, and supervising MFTs. Her research and scholarly activities focus on professional and personal development of helping professionals, school-based mental health, and the impact of sociocultural and sociopolitical contexts on LGBTQ+ identity. She has a private practice in Los Angeles, California.

SESSION OVERVIEW

Changing the Narrative: LGBTQ+ Liberatory Stories
So many factors continue to present challenges for LGBTQ+ youth, including being socialized around normative ideas of gender identity and sexuality and sociopolitical efforts aiming to erase queer identity. This workshop emphasizes the need for families, schools, helping professionals, and social groups to create space for queer identities not only to be acknowledged but to be celebrated. As helping professionals, we are called to encourage and support LGBTQ+ young people to create new narratives centered on the gifts of authenticity, pride, hope, resilience, resistance, and liberation. We need to continue to assess for and manage the distress and crises LGBTQ+ youth face, but we also need to inquire about the persistent existence of their unique queer identities. As they navigate adverse experiences, how can we help them adapt in positive ways that access their strength, resilience, and ability to thrive? As they battle having their voices and stories silenced, how can we create space for new narratives to emerge? The initial observations from an ongoing community engagement project and action research study will be shared on how these strategies can support LGBTQ+ youth and emerging adults. This workshop will discuss the impact of socialization and the sociopolitical context on LGBTQ+ identity and how these systems perpetuate problem-focused narratives about self and the world for queer youth. Strategies for supporting the development of alternative liberatory narratives will be presented, and the importance of sharing and having liberatory stories witnessed by others will be discussed as a critical step in reducing minority stress factors. Participants will be invited to explore personal identity narratives and consider alternative options in developing their own stories.