Rosa Quezada
MSW, ASW
StrengthUnited
Rosa Quezada
Rosa Quezada (she/her/ella) MSW, ASW is an Associate Clinical Social Worker. She is a Bilingual Clinician at StrengthUnited, a trauma recovery and Child Advocacy Center in the San Fernando Valley, where she provides trauma-responsive psychotherapy to youth with trauma histories, including; sexual abuse, domestic violence, maltreatment, and emotional abuse. She has clinical experience working with both precariously housed and chronically ill youth from her time as an MSW intern at Children’s Hospital LA, as well as working with students and families as an intern with Los Angeles Unified School District. Rosa identifies as a cis-gender, queer, Latinx woman and is passionate about working with immigrant, first generation, LGBTQIA+, system/justice involved youth who have experienced trauma.
SESSION OVERVIEW
Validating Experiences & Identities: Supporting LGBTQIA+ Youth Who Disclose Sexual Abuse
This presentation will address considerations for the unique therapeutic needs of youth who have experienced sexual abuse, whether they identify as LGBTQIA+ or not. Sexual abuse is a prevalent issue that affects youth across demographics. The National Children’s Alliance reported that in 2021, Children’s Advocacy Centers in the United States served 249,879 cases of child sexual abuse.
From a mental health perspective, youth with experiences of sexual abuse are at high risk for a variety of mental health disorders, suicidality, system-involvement, and relational problems. Are these risks factors compounded in youth with intersecting marginalized identities including: gender, sexual orientation, race, socio-economic status, and beyond? Research indicates yes.
This presentation will shed light on the ways that mental health providers can acknowledge and affirm the wholeness of our clients’ identities in therapy and provide trauma-responsive clinical interventions that can help youth heal from sexual abuse trauma. Although sexual abuse is not specific to just LGBTQIA+ communities, special emphasis will be made to highlight the unique needs of LGBTQIA+ youth with experiences of sexual abuse, as well as the general symptomology common amongst youth survivors.