How Members of the LGBTQIA+ Community Can Heal From Trauma
Takeaway: As a therapist and person with lived experience myself, I have a deep understanding of LGBTQIA+ trauma. Here, I explain how trauma often shows up in our community and tangible steps we can take to heal.
Queer grief and rage are sacred and deserve to be held in community. Queering trauma healing for LGBTQIA2S communities requires acknowledgment of queer trauma as a collective experience. Our healing from anti-lgbtqia+ oppression and violence won’t happen alone or with the tools of cisnormative, heteronormative, and patriarchal institutions. Keep reading to learn more about trauma and the lgbt community, and the transformational power of collective healing.
Understanding LGBTQIA+ trauma
Trauma affecting many within LGBTQIA2S+ communities is often rooted in societal and political non-acceptance, as well as hostility towards the diverse range of identities within the community. LGBTQIA2S+ individuals with additional marginalized identities and experiences are at higher risk of experiencing traumatic events rooted in oppression.
All forms of oppression are connected and reinforce each other. And violence is often a tool used to maintain power. I’ll expand on how the trauma of oppression shows up in the community, common impacts of these experiences on sexual and gender minorities, and strategies for healing queer trauma.
The historical context of LGBTQIA+ trauma
In the U.S., LGBTQIA+ communities have a long history marked by experiences of discrimination, prejudice, and marginalization. Historically, societal attitudes and legal frameworks have perpetuated systemic discrimination against individuals based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression.
The historical context of the LGBTQIA+ community is characterized by a continual struggle for recognition, acceptance, and equal rights. Activism and advocacy have been instrumental in challenging societal norms and changing institutional oppression.
In the early to mid-20th century, queerness was often criminalized and individuals identifying as gay or lesbian faced persecution and violence. Many were subjected to medical interventions aimed at "curing homosexuality.”
Although several riots and protests across cities in the U.S. occurred between the late 50’s and 60’s, the Stonewall Riots of 1969 are often considered the birth of the LGBTQIA+ civil rights movement. Many of these protests, Stonewall included, came in response to police raids and violence as well as other systemic oppression.
A history of institutional bias and discrimination against LGBTQIA+ individuals in healthcare is easily identified. Prior to 1973, homosexuality was classified as a “mental disorder” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). And, it was not until 2012 that the APA moved away from considering transgender and gender expansive identity a mental disorder when it replaced “gender identity disorder” with “gender dysphoria.”
These events are examples of both historical and collective trauma for the LGBTQ community. Additional examples of collective trauma for LGBTQIA communities are:
violent hate crimes such as those that resulted in the deaths of Matthew Shepard (at the time of writing this, I am less than a 10-minute drive from the hospital where he died in 1998), Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, Angie Zapata, Sakia Gunn, Duanna Johnson, and O’Shae Sibley.
Community targeted attacks and mass shootings like Puzzles Lounge in Massachusetts, Pulse Orlando, and Club Q in Colorado Springs;
the AIDS crisis and lack of response by the U.S. government;
and collective grieving through the Trans Day of Remebrance.
Although there has been much progress, historical and collective trauma can have a profound impact on communities. This is especially true when events of today mirror those of the past, triggering LGBTQIA communities’ collective trauma.
Many LGBTQIA+ individuals continue to be affected on both personal and systemic levels. Recognizing and addressing historical and collective trauma is essential for fostering resilience and promoting the mental health and well-being of sexual and gender minorities.
LGBTQIA+ trauma today
Today, LGBTQIA+ communities continue to experience discrimination and trauma, highlighting ongoing challenges despite significant progress in legal and societal acceptance. According to the Center for American Progress, more than 1 in 3 LGBTQ Americans experienced discrimination in the last year. That same study showed 3 in 5 transgender Americans reporting at least one experience with discrimination.
LGBTQ individuals continue to experience discrimination in healthcare, ranging from inadequate cultural competency among healthcare providers to outright denial of services. These barriers can impede access to essential healthcare, contributing to health disparities within the community.
Additionally, LGBT people continue to experience workplace discrimination including unequal opportunities, harassment, or even dismissal due to others’ beliefs about LGBTQ identities. Ongoing employment discrimination contributes to economic insecurity as well as generational impoverishment. More LGBTQ families exist below the federal poverty line than their cisgender heterosexual counterparts.
LGBTQIA+ folks also still find their existence and rights being debated and threatened by U.S. politicians and the legal system. According to the Williams Institute, approximately one-third of transgender youth in the U.S. live in states that ban access to gender-affirming care, as well as restrict sports participation for trans students. I share more about this in the FAQ section on why LGBTQ affirmative counseling is important.
According to the FBI, between 2016 and 2017, LGBTQ individuals experienced hate crimes twice as often as other marginalized communities. Results of the 2017 National Crime Victim Survey showed queer and trans people were four times more likely to be victims of violent crime than cisgender heterosexual people.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are disproportionately experienced by LGBTQIA children when compared to their cisgender straight peers. LGBTQ people experience domestic violence or intimate partner violence at greater rates than cisgender heterosexual people. Bisexual women and trans people are nearly twice as likely to experience intimate partner violence as cisgender straight women.
In various parts of the world, queer individuals face severe legal consequences, physical assault, death penalties, and other forms of persecution based on their identities. The struggle for basic human rights, visibility, and acceptance continues in many regions, highlighting the need for a global LGBTQIA rights movement.
Discrimination persists across multiple domains, impacting the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of LGBTQIA+ individuals. It's crucial to interpret these issues with sensitivity, recognizing the diversity of experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community.
Intersectionality in LGBTQIA+ trauma
LGBTAIA individuals who have additional minoritized identities and experiences are at even greater risk of experiencing trauma, discrimination, and violence. LGBTQIA+ individuals who belong to multiple marginalized groups have unique and layered experiences of oppression in which the effects of oppression are compounded.
Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” to explain how individuals may experience overlapping and interconnected systems of oppression based on various aspects of their identity such as race, gender, sexual identity, class status, and more. For example, a queer trans person of color (QTPOC) may face racism, homophobia, and transphobia, each exacerbating the others. The discrimination they encounter is not just the sum of its parts but a complex interplay that can lead to heightened vulnerability and greater psychological distress.
Intersectionality emphasizes the need for a nuanced understanding of an individual's experiences, as it recognizes that multiple forms of oppression can intersect and mutually reinforce each other. Competent and culturally responsive trauma therapy must address these intersecting factors.
Therapists who don’t hold this nuanced understanding are, at best, ineffective in offering trauma therapy to clients with multiple marginalized identities. Acknowledging the intersectional nature of trauma and working to dismantle intersecting systems of oppression is crucial for effective trauma healing and for fostering environments that validate and support individuals who navigate the complexities of belonging to multiple marginalized groups.
“Oppression is actually how society organizes itself to control and distribute trauma.
One of the things we’re arguing is that, what oppression ends up being fundamentally, is the organization and concentration of traumatic experiences, in certain communities, or with certain peoples, and the removal of, or reduction of, the net or supports it takes, or the time, or the resources, to heal from or transform those traumatic experiences. That is what oppression ultimately does.
When we’re talking about the generational trauma or collective trauma that communities experience, we’re talking about the way it has been concentrated in our communities and the resources that have been pulled away or criminalized or interrupted, so that it becomes more and more difficult for communities to actually heal from those traumatic experiences.”
Examples of LGBTQIA+ trauma
When discussing trauma and the lgbt community, researchers have recently begun to use the minority stress model to better explain the ways queer and trans people commonly experience distinct and chronic stressors related to their identities. Although experiences of trauma are highly individual, and not everyone within the LGBTQ community will have these experiences, some common types of trauma LGBTQ+ people face:
Microaggressions
Subtle, often unintentional, everyday forms of discrimination that marginalize and demean oppressed individuals can accumulate over time and contribute to trauma. These may include offensive comments, stereotypes, or dismissive behaviors. LGBTQ individuals frequently encounter microaggressions that undermine their well-being.
Examples include using incorrect pronouns, making assumptions about their relationships, invalidating their sexual identity, or expressing surprise about their a person's gender identity. These seemingly innocuous comments or actions contribute to a hostile environment, perpetuating stereotypes and reinforcing cisnormativity and heteronormative biases.
Challenges surrounding coming out
The process of coming out can be challenging and, in some cases, traumatic. Even prior to coming out, the fear of rejection or violence can contribute to many LGBTQ people experiencing significant nervous system stress and the need to remain hidden. Additionally, Cisnormativity and heteronormativity often result in LGBTQIA+ folks having to come out due to the assumptions that cisgender and heterosexual are the norm.
Lack of support or rejection by family of origin
Lack of support or rejection by family members can inflict profound emotional and psychological trauma on LGBTQ individuals. Self-acceptance becomes more difficult when your loved ones do not accept your authentic self. Further, LGBTQIA individuals who experience rejection by family of origin are more likely to struggle with feelings of belonging.
Isolation and lack of community
Lack of social support leads to isolation. This is further compounded when LGBTQIA+ individuals are unable to establish connection or relationships with other members of LGBTQIA+ communities. LGBTQIA+ individuals in rural areas are at extreme risk of isolation and lack of social support. Connecting with others with similar of shared lived experiences is one of the largest protective factors in reducing risk of suicide.
Youth Bullying and Homelessness
LGBTQIA+ youth, face higher rates of bullying in schools and their own homes. Additionally, rates of homelessness among LGBTQIA+ youth are disproportionately high compared to the general population as a result of family rejection.
Internalized homophobia or transphobia
LGBTQ individuals may internalize societal prejudices, leading to shame, low self-esteem, or self-hatred. This internalized oppression can be a source of ongoing distress and leads to mental health struggles.
Systemic & Institutional Oppression
In addition to individual experiences of discrimination and prejudice, or interpersonal oppression, that contribute to LGBTQ+ trauma, queer and transgender people experience systemic and institutional oppression that result in LGBTQ+ people having fewer rights, less power, and less access to resources. Examples of societal institutions LGBTQ oppression is embedded in are education system and schools, public policies, housing development, laws and the legal system, police practices and the criminal justice system, healthcare, and hiring policies.
Mental Health Disparities
LGBTQIA+ individuals often experience higher rates of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Societal stigma, discrimination, and lack of societal acceptance are the primary cause of these disparities.
LGBT Health--Trauma & Lack of Access
Anti-LGBTQ+ Bias and lack of culturally competent health care providers contribute to health care disparities for LGBTQIA communities. LGBTQIA+ folks are likely to avoid medical care as a result of past trauma within medical systems or experience denial of services. This also amplifies the already higher risk of physical and mental health conditions among LGBTQ+ individuals.
Conversion therapy and/or religious trauma
Some LGBTQ individuals may be subjected to conversion therapy, which aims to change a person's gender or sexual orientation. This practice is widely discredited and causes severe emotional and psychological harm. In fact, LGBTQ folks who experienced conversion therapy are almost twice as likely to experience suicidal ideation and at 75% greater odds of planning suicide attempts.
Most experiences of conversion therapy are performed by a religious leader (4 out of 5) while others report it being provided by a health care provider. Even when LGBTQIA+ individuals have not experienced conversion therapy, they are drastically over-represented among those who have experienced religious trauma or harm.
Violence or hate crimes
Sexual and gender minorities remain vulnerable to targeted violence and hate crimes. Transgender individuals, particularly transgender women of color, face disproportionately high rates of violence, reflecting a disturbing trend of transphobia and racism. Anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes increased between 2021 and 2022, with attacks based on gender identity up 32.9% and those based on sexual orientation up 13.8%.
According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality, 86% of trans people who interacted with police while doing sex work or thought by the police to be doing sex work reported being harassed, attacked, sexually assaulted, or mistreated in some other way by law enforcement.
The impact of trauma on the LGTBQIA+ community
Although anyone, regardless of marginalized identity, can experience trauma, the LGBTQIA+ community is particularly at risk. The Trauma of Oppression is a system that feeds itself. As a result, many of the types of queer trauma described above are also impacts of queer trauma in the list below.
The impact of past trauma on the LGBTQIA+ community is multifaceted and complex. Even when an LGBTQIA+ individual has not directly experienced trauma, they may have trauma symptoms develop in response to Queer trauma experienced by others in the community. Trauma can permeate every dimension of life, affecting relationships, family dynamics, career, education, and even our physical health.
Examples of the impact of trauma on LGBTQ individuals and the community as a whole are:
Strained Relationships
Trauma within the LGBTQ community can strain interpersonal connections, making it challenging to establish and maintain relationships. Fear of rejection or discrimination may result in social withdrawal, trust issues, and difficulties forming intimate connections.
Disruption of Identity and Self-Worth
Gender diverse people and lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer individuals may experience a disruption in their sense of identity and self-worth due to traumatic events. This can lead to feelings of shame, guilt, or a distorted self-perception, impacting their overall mental well-being.
Mental & Emotional Impacts
As already discussed, LGBTQIA+ individuals often experience higher rates of mental health problems like PTSD, anxiety, major depressive disorder, and substance abuse disorders. The constant threat to physical and emotional safety contributes to heightened emotional reactivity, difficulty regulating emotions, feeling unsafe in everyday life, and persistent hypervigilance within the community.
Physical Health Ramifications
The stress response to trauma can lead to various physical health issues including cardiovascular problems, chronic gastrointestinal conditions, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and other chronic health conditions. As a result of the cumulative impact of ongoing stressors associated with bias and discrimination, LGBTQ individuals experience physical health challenges at greater rates.
Erosion of Trust
Traumatic events can erode trust and lead to victims feeling wariness and suspicion toward others, particularly those who do not share similar identities and experiences. This makes it more difficult for LGBTQIA+ individuals to develop robust social support networks. Additionally, it makes it challenging for LGBTQIA+ individuals to engage in activities or get involved in environments, especially those outside LGBTQIA+ communities.
Healing from LGTBQIA+ trauma
There are a number of ways LGBTQ people individually and collectively respond to trauma in ways that build health and resilience. Sometimes LGBTQ people engage in these processes as a means of coping and other times they are a means of resisting oppression.
Some examples of ways LGBTQ people individually and collectively respond to trauma or oppression that support coping, healing, or resistance are:
Community Resilience & Solidarity
LGBTQIA people have created support networks, activist movements, and mutual aid networks to strengthen community. Facing adversity together has fostered resilience and solidarity among LGBTQIA+ people, as well as shared sense of identity and purpose.
Artistic & Creative Expression
LGBTQ individuals often turn to artistic expression as a means of coping with trauma and oppression. Through various forms of art, such as literature, visual arts, or performance, individuals can channel their emotions, raise awareness, and contribute to the community's cultural richness, fostering healing and resilience.
Peer Support Networks
Peer support networks within the LGBTQ community play a crucial role in healing from trauma. These networks provide a space for individuals to share experiences, offer empathy, and build connections with others who may have faced similar challenges, fostering a sense of understanding and solidarity
Cultural Memory & Activism
The LGBTQ community often carries a collective memory of historical struggles and achievements. This cultural memory can fuel activism and advocacy efforts, as well as contribute to the sense of shared identity and purpose. When LGBTQIA+ individuals engage in intersectional activism that addresses not only LGBTQ-specific issues but also recognizes the interconnectedness of various forms of oppression, LGBTQIA+ individuals work towards dismantling systems of discrimination, fostering a sense of empowerment and resistance.
Legal & Social Progress
LGBTQIA+ activism is the primary cause of Advances in LGBTQ rights and visibility. Achieving legal recognition, anti-discrimination protections, and societal acceptance are crucial steps in breaking the cycle of generational and historical oppression. LGBTQIA+ activism leading to legal and social progress contributes to collective healing from LGBTQIA trauma.
Chosen Family & Queer Belonging
LGBTQ individuals often form deep connections with friends and allies who become chosen family. In the face of familial rejection or strained relationships, these supportive, non-biological family structures challenge narratives of exclusion and rejection.
Chosen family fosters a sense of belonging, creating a space where individuals can be their authentic selves and find strength in solidarity. This concept goes beyond traditional notions of family, highlighting the resilience and adaptability of LGBTQ individuals in building strong, affirming relationships that contribute to healing, coping, and resisting societal pressures.
Generative Intergenerational Relationships
Within LGBTQIA+ communities, generative intergenerational relationships emphasize the meaningful connections and mentorships between older and younger members. Older generations of LGBTQ individuals often act as mentors, providing guidance, support, and sharing their experiences with younger generations.
This creates a sense of accountability and care within the community, where wisdom is passed down, and younger individuals can learn from the resilience of those who have faced historical adversities. Older LGBTQ individuals may find solace and hope in witnessing the progress and improved acceptance experienced by younger generations.
This intergenerational exchange fosters a unique culture of collective healing and resistance, as it strengthens bonds, imparts wisdom, and instills a shared commitment to overcoming challenges and building a more inclusive future for the LGBTQ community.
Queer Healing has been happening all along
These responses to the trauma of oppression reflect the resilience and strength within LGBTQ communities. The strategies employed, whether through artistic expression, activism, peer support networks, or chosen family, demonstrate a commitment to individual and collective healing.
By fostering a sense of belonging, empowerment, and understanding, LGBTQ individuals actively work towards creating a more supportive and affirming world. And more resourced LGBTQIA+ communities are better able to devote themselves to dismantling all systems of oppression.
The importance of collective healing
Healing from and coping with historical and collective trauma, such as queer trauma, is even more challenging because the sources of these traumas persist over time. Unlike a singular incident traumatic event, the Trauma of Oppression is complex and repetitive in nature. And LGBTQIA+ trauma is ongoing as a result of systemic oppression, such as cissexism, heterosexism, racism, sexism, and all the other “-isms.”
Ongoing traumas hinder the healing process, making it difficult for survivors to fully heal, or even just cope with the impacts of past traumas. Trauma experts emphasize the necessity of distancing oneself from ongoing trauma, particularly as the first stage in trauma recovery is the establishment of safety. For example, someone in a domestic violence relationship won’t be able to heal and recover from the abuse while it continues.
Healing from the trauma of oppression can be even more complex as oppression is engrained in so many different systems we exist in every day. Until we dismantle the systems of oppression that are at the root of LGBTQIA+ trauma and other community-specific traumas, and end the bias-motivated violence that arises in response to those oppressive systems, LGBTQIA+ communities and other marginalized groups will continue to experience collective traumas.
Individual healing is essential given the unique experiences and struggles each person faces. And individual healing can support each of us in ways that allows us to better show up for collective healing. Individual healing is crucial, but it is incomplete without the acknowledgment and validation of shared pain and resilience within the community.
Individual therapy, even when it is trauma informed care, will never be the primary means of healing from collective trauma. Because collective trauma and systems of oppression are not individual experiences or responsibilities.
However, individual trauma therapy with an LGBTQ+ mental health professional can be an important component of the overall bigger picture in healing from LGBT trauma. I would be honored to offer support to you in LGBTQ trauma recovery. In addition to being able to support you in managing ptsd symptoms and healing from lgbtqia trauma, we can also focus on building queer community and resilience to support your efforts toward collective healing.
Safety and understanding are essential to the healing work you aim to do, and you will be better met by a trauma therapist with lived experience as LGBTQ and with queer trauma. We might not be able to create safety in the whole world. AND we can establish safety in community. And we can establish safety between each other.
The therapeutic relationship can be one of those places of safety that you can build from and take to your community. If you’ve experienced trauma specific to the LGBTQIA experience, or other unrelated traumatic events that were then shaped by your experience as an LGBTQIA+ person, reach out for help.
I’m here to help you find a sense of safety in your own body.
We cannot actually disentangle our bodies from the ways we experience oppression and violence. Just as our queerness lives in our bodies, so do the impacts of anti-lgbt oppression. So many of us move through the world with the context in which our bodies have not been allowed to be our own. And our relationships with our bodies have been impacted by that context.
These experiences can make it really not safe to be in or notice our bodies. Everyone deserves to feel at home in their own body, feel safe in their own body, and have agency over their own body. Your body is a home to your life.
Despite being inherent human rights, health and healing are often perceived as luxuries within our societal and global systems. Marginalized communities urgently need individuals with shared experience who can skillfully hold complex individual and collective trauma when it shows up in the community and for individual members. Healing practitioners with shared LGBT experience are essential for transforming the legacies of collective trauma into community resilience, safety, and health.
Reach out for an initial consultation if you are looking for someone with shared experience to support you in healing from collective LGBT trauma.