Check out G&STC therapist Lee Hatcher talking with Kelsey Borresen at HuffPost about discussing election results with kids

Check out G&STC therapist Lee Hatcher talking with Kelsey Borresen at HuffPost about discussing election results with kids.

Providing tangible support

“Lee Hatcher is a therapist at the Gender & Sexuality Therapy Center in New York City. They were a 16-year-old trans kid in the South when Trump was elected to his first term. Hatcher recalls thinking at the time: ‘How am I going to make it through this?’ So they understand these fears firsthand.

Hatcher advises parents to talk to their children about how the new administration could impact their future and ‘actively listen and engage with how that makes them feel,’ they said.

‘Trans youth need tangible emotional support, and by letting them know their voice is heard and valid, you are showing them what you’re going to do: stand by them every step of the way,’ Hatcher said. ‘It doesn’t mean it will be easy; it means that love and community persists.’”

Read the full article here.

More from G&STC therapist Lee Hatcher on this topic:

In 2016, when I was 16, and Trump had been elected for his first presidency, I remember thinking, “How am I going to make it through this?” Growing up trans in the south was hard, and with no blueprint forward, it seemed it would only get worse. 

Now, as a mental health professional and activist, I tell parents with trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming kids the duality of development and reality. The truth is that most teens have already developed their sense of awareness and understanding of this presidential outcome. The hard reality for trans kids, is that they have probably already experienced some of the implications.

I advise that parents focus on helping their child understand how this could impact their future and actively listen and engage with how that makes them feel. Trans youth need tangible emotional support, and by letting them know their voice is heard and valid, you are showing them what you’re going to do: stand by them every step of the way. It doesn’t mean it will be easy; it means that love and community persists.