John Sovec
MA, LMFT
John Sovec Therapy
John Sovec
John Sovec, MA, LMFT is a nationally recognized expert on creating affirmative support for LGBTQIA+ teens and their families during the coming out process. He is the author of Out: A Parent’s Guide to Supporting Your LGBTQIA+ Kid Through Coming Out and Beyond (JKP, 2023). John is a frequent contributor to numerous publications on providing LGBTQIA+ support, speaks at conferences nationally, and provides training and professional consultation on LGBTQIA+ competencies for community agencies, schools, and non-profits. In addition, he consults and trains on the corporate level regarding diversity, equity, and LGBTQIA+ inclusion.
John is the clinical consultant for The Life Group LA, adjunct faculty at Phillips Graduate Institute and guest lecturer at Alliant University, Antioch, Cal State Fullerton, and USC School of Social Work. In December 2019, he was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
He is a nationally recognized expert on creating affirmative support for LGBTQIA+ adolescents with his work featured on The Riki Lake Show, OWN, FOX, The Advocate, Bravo, LA Talk Radio, The Washington Post, and columns for Huffington Post, Medium, and Good Therapy. John is the host of OutTalk, a monthly web series for OutCare Health.
You can learn more about John and his work at www.JohnSovec.com and www.GayTeenTherapy.com
SESSION OVERVIEW
Responding to the Trauma of Coming Out for LGBTQIA+ Youth
The experience of coming out is a unique process for LGBTQIA+ youth and the influences of that process can have a powerful effect on identity development. Living as an LGBTQIA+ person in a hetero-normative world can show up as hyper-vigilance, depression, stress, and anxiety, which are the body’s mechanism of protection from threatening situations, whether actual or perceived.
This process is exacerbated by cis-hetero normative environments where the vast majority of LGBTQIA+ people (87.3%) report having experienced harassment or assault based on personal characteristics, including sexual orientation and gender expression.
The 2021 National Climate Survey (GLSEN, 2023), study highlights the challenges that LGBTQIA+ students are facing in schools including high rates of physical and verbal abuse, higher suicidal ideation, higher suicide attempts, lack of school support, and higher rates of substance abuse.
The need for the development of a supportive school system is indicated in that a safer school climate, including supportive and trained school staff, can lessen the use of anti-LGBTQIA+ language and incidents of assault and violence. Schools that develop a deep understanding of the coming out process and how to create a supportive environment are the first step toward creating safe and supportive campuses for LGBTQIA+ students.
This workshop will explore a model of care that addresses the impact of sexual and gender minority status on mental and physical health. We will explore the alienation of LGBTQIA+ kids from their family of origin, understand coping mechanisms used to manage LGBTQIA+ identity development, and how by reaffirming the coming out process in a safe supportive environment LGBQIA+ kids can regain their personal sense of identity.