An LGBTQIA+ Affirming Therapist’s Guide to PRIDE
We’ve compiled information on local PRIDE events and links to our best LGBTQIA+ affirming content right here. Subscribe to our newsletter to get these tips and more in your inbox.
Celebrating PRIDE in Montgomery County, Maryland
There are so many great ways to celebrate PRIDE. You can display symbols of support in your home or office. Attend local PRIDE events. Or just talk positively all month long about your LGBTQIA+ friends and neighbors.
Finding PRIDE Events Near You
Click here to find national and international PRIDE events and travel tips! Click the images below to find the latest info on PRIDE events in the DC area:
Montgomery County PRIDE
Capital PRIDE (Washington DC)
NOVA PRIDE (Northern Virginia)
PRIDE Events in Maryland
Why PRIDE Matters
The visibility of PRIDE celebrations is important for several reasons. First, large crowds can create safety in numbers. In our country, LGBTQIA+ people are still victimized at significantly higher rates than their “straight” (heterosexual) and cisgender counterparts.
Participating in PRIDE as a straight and/or cisgender person is a way of showing support for LGBTQIA+ people around you, and letting them know that they are safe in your presence.
Second, showing pride in aspects of our identity is part of our identity development. It’s a stage that comes before full integration of all aspects of ourselves. How do you show pride in aspects of your identity? Do you display a flag of your family’s country of origin? A Black Lives Matter sign? Do you wear something that symbolizes your religion?
During PRIDE we’re celebrating people in all their complexity. And that feels pretty good.
How to Support Your LGBTQIA+ Friends and Family All Year Long
Tips from our LGBTQIA+ Affirming Therapists
Learn the vocabulary. Not sure what LGBTQIA+ means? Find out here.
Use their chosen pronouns. If you make a mistake, just correct yourself and move on.
Stay curious. They know themselves better than you do. Listen as they share what they want to share.
Speak up when someone else puts them down.
Stand up for their rights to use public restrooms, marry, form families, and receive health care.
Supporting Your LGBTQIA+ Child
Becoming an ally for your LGBTQIA+ child is important. Why? Parent support is the most significant predictor of mental health outcomes for these youth.
One of our LGBTQIA+ affirming therapists shares her advice for parents here. We discuss gender identity specifically in this post. And click here for more information about allyship.
What To Do When a Friend Comes Out to You
When someone chooses to share their identity with you, it’s an invitation to join the circle of people they truly trust. Take the opportunity to expand your knowledge. And ask what they need from you.
4 Reasons PRIDE Matters in Your Family
You don’t know who hasn’t yet come out to you.
A friend or family member may be watching to see if they are safe to share their identity with you. Supporting PRIDE is a way to signal that you’re open to knowing how they see themselves.
Your loved ones need your support most of all.
Learn how to be an ally here.
You’re teaching how to show care and support for another person.
Doesn’t the world need a little more of that?
You’re creating a safer community. Studies show that violence decreases when acceptance is taught at home.
Less violence? Yes please.
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