I thought that as a Psychiatrist, I had the concepts down pretty good until last weekend.  I realized that my “Gender and Diversity” education  is a little more than rusty. It is important, in Psychiatric Practice, to remain open minded at all times in an effort to establish rapport with your patients. I was reading an article and discovered that I am NOT as up-to-date as I thought on the nomenclature and language of diversity. Are You?  This post is for everyone. Not just those who may think that they have a struggle or feel a little different. This article is certainly for ALL parents who are raising children in our diverse and “melting pot” cluture.

I will start with some new concepts, trends and definitions:

1.  Homosexual-This is now viewed as an outdated term that is considered to by “offensive to some LGBTQ individuals. (L=lesbian, G=Gay, B=Bisexual, T-Transgender, Q=queer/I think) I did not know this before reading this article. There is now mor especific terminology in our culture.

2.  Transgender–This is assigned to an individual who does not identify with their birth assigned gender. This world is not a noun, it shoudl be used as an adjective. WOW. I certainly did not know this.

3.  Cisgender/cis–This is a person who agrees with the gender that they were assigned at birth. I guess this use to be term, “heterosexual.”

4.  Genderqueer aka “non-binary-” These term is for indivduals who do not identify themselves as male or female.  I guess this was the old bisexual or something like that-WOW. This is certainly a new one on me.

5.  Passing-This one is very popualr in the mainstream church. You know the gay man passing as staright and marrying some innocent but despearate woman.  They will usually end-up getting divorce. I hope this happens before its too late.  There ar also women who do just the same.  It is important to understand all of these definitions.

By now you have either put a face with each definition or you have passed-out on the floor. It is very important for all clinicians and some of you self-proclaimed clinicians to get a good handle on what is actually going on in the stratosphere. Don’t be afraid to educate yourself. Certainly religious leaders have got to become more competent on these issues before you start counseling or even attempting to deal with persons conflicted about their sexuality.

 This is a very important clinical issue.  Feel free to leave your comments and questions on the post.

Thanks for stopping by,

Dr.O