Greetings, all!

The APAGS Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity is currently
revamping our resource guide for LGBTQ+ graduate students in psychology
(check out the current guide here, http://www.apa.org/apags/resources/lgbt-
guide.aspx) and needs your help. We are looking for LGBTQ+ or ally graduate
students and early career professionals willing to share their experiences on the
following general topics:

Chapter 1 - Assessing Program Climate
·  Asking students and/or faculty about campus climate, especially reflecting
different levels of support

Chapter 2 - Self-Disclosure
·  Coming out in graduate school
·  Gender transition in graduate school
·  Choosing to disclose or not to disclose sexual orientation in graduate school
(example of each?)
·  Coming out to a clinical supervisor (or advisor?)

Chapter 3 - Social Support
·  Usefulness of using LGBT campus centers to find connection
·  How straight or cisgender peers / allies help build resilience / provide
community
·  Experiences in the C-SOGD mentoring program

Chapter 4 - Mentoring
·  How to start conversation with mentor about stigma related to sexual
orientation/gender identity. Best practices?
·  Mentoring relationship across generations – significantly older mentor and/or
where mentee is older than mentor
·  How did you pick your major professor to work with?

Chapter 5 - Advocacy and Confronting Discrimination
·  Story of a successful advocacy effort
·  Choosing whether or not to speak up in class re. microaggressions etc.
·  Example of a time someone successfully confronted discrimination (and a time
someone chose not to?)

Chapter 6 - Research
·  Addressing ethical concerns in research with LGBT populations
·  Choice to conduct research related to ones own sexual orientation/gender
identity - value of experience and/or choosing not to do research in that area

Chapter 7 - Transgender Students
·  Coming out as trans to advisors and supervisors
·  How trans students encounter and handle microagressions
·  Legal challenges faced by trans students and how they have addressed them

Chapter 8 - Bisexual Students
·  Coming out as bisexual in a professional context - good experiences and/or
how a challenge was addressed
·  Specific microaggressions experienced by bisexual students and how they
handle them/cope with them

Ideally, these anecdotes should be between 3-4 sentences in length, although
we are also open to longer contributions which we might edit as needed. An
example of our general expectations are as follows:

"I’ll never forget that nerve-wracking conversation when I told my advisor I
wanted to do research with LGBTQ+ individuals. While my advisor respects my
determination and reasons for working with the LGBTQ+ community, I’m not
sure he will ever completely ‘get’ what it means to be an LGBTQ+ graduate
student. That experience was definitely a turning point in my “coming out” as a
graduate student and woman who also proudly identifies as LGBTQ+."

You may also include a photograph of yourself (at least 1MB, ~300 dpi) to be
included with your quote. Please email your anecdotes and picture, if desired, to
Mary Guerrant at [log in to unmask] by Monday, February 2nd.

Thank you in advance for helping us create this useful guide for LGBTQ+
graduate students in psychology!

Peace,

Mary T. Guerrant, M.S.
Doctoral Student; Psychology in the Public Interest
Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University
Member, APAGS Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity
Graduate Chair, APA Society for the Psychology of Women Section IV LBT
Concerns

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
―Margaret Mead

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