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Building Competence, Building Capacity: 2SLGBTQ2+ Focused Trauma-Informed Care

The goal of the Building Competence, Building Capacity project was to increase the capacity of organizations, as well as multi-disciplinary health and service providers, in providing trauma-informed care to members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Our pilot workshops ran in November 2019 and 2020 with financial support from the Public Health Agency of Canada. The workshop was piloted across Ontario in Toronto, London, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Timmins, Kingston and Windsor, with funding support from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

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The workshop materials we created are now housed at Rainbow Health Ontario. If you are interested in training on trauma-informed care for 2SLGBTQ+ communities, please visit rainbow health ontario - education & training and look for "2SLGBTQ Trauma Informed Care."

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This project is important because there is a great deal of evidence that 2SLGBTQ+ people are more likely to experience violence and/or trauma than straight or cisgender (i.e., non-trans) people.(1) Additionally, 2SLGBTQ+ people face barriers in accessing health and social services as a result of a lack of 2SLGBTQ+ capacity on the part of service providers or the organizations they work within.(2,3)

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Given that many 2SLGBTQ+ people will be in need of support related to experiences of violence/trauma, it is important that organizations and service providers have the ability to skillfully meet the needs of 2SLGBTQ+ people from a trauma-informed lens.

To learn more about our research or if you have ideas for future projects, please contact us.

Notes:

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1. Roberts, A. L., Austin, S. B., Corliss, H. L., Vandermorris, A. K., & Koenen, K. C. (2010). Pervasive Trauma Exposure Among US Sexual Orientation Minority Adults and Risk of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. American Journal of Public Health, 100:12, 2433-2441.

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2. Pilling, M., Howison, M., Bellamy, C., Davidson, L., Frederick, T., Ross, L., McKenzie, K., & Kidd, S. (2017). Fragmented Inclusion: Community Participation and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer People with Diagnoses of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 87(5), 606-613.

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3. Ross, L. E., Gibson, M. F., Daley, A., Steele, L. S., & Williams, C. C. (2018). In spite of the system: A mixed methods analysis of mental health service experiences of LGBTQ people living in poverty in Ontario, Canada. PLoS ONE, 13(8): e0201437.

Our Project's Values

Trauma- and Violence-Informed

We recognize the far-reaching impacts of trauma on individuals and the ways in which service providers and organizations may unintentionally perpetuate trauma.

Evidence-Based

We are rooted in a strong evidence-base for 2SLGBTQ+ peoples' need for trauma-informed services and an awareness of the barriers 2SLGBTQ+ folks experience in accessing competent healthcare and social services, which contribute to health disparities.

Engagement

We are committed to meaningful and responsible community engagement in all of our work.

 

We recognize that research and care delivery have historically (and contemporaneously) harmed 2SLGBTQ+ peoples, and that it is important to include 2SLGBTQ+ peoples in all levels of this project to redress historical and contemporary harms.

Anti-Racism

We recognize that healthcare and social services are sites of historical and contemporary racism and injustice. We bring an anti-racist lens to our work by encouraging the identification and elimination of racism in systems, organizational structures, policies and practice, and attitudes so that power is redistributed and shared equitably.

Cultural Safety

We recognize that healthcare and social services have been sites of historical and contemporary colonization and traumatization. We are committed to ensuring that 2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous peoples feel safe and respected while accessing services.

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We recognize that the Indigenous concept of Cultural Safety may also apply to non-Indigenous peoples that experience systemic discrimination and violence, such as non-Indigenous LGBTQ+ peoples.

Health Equity

We are committed to an intersectional, anti-oppressive, holistic understanding of health that is attentive to the ways in which an individual's social location can inform their health status and access to services.

 

We believe that social justice is needed improve the health of diverse 2SLGBTQ+ folks.

Team Members

Project Resources

The following are some of the resources used in our workshop.

 

For more about the workshop curriculum, please refer to Development and implementation of a 2SLGBTQ+ competent trauma-informed care intervention or get in touch with us.

Module 1:
Principles of Trauma-Informed Care and the Alignment with 2SLGBTQ+ Cultural Competence

Module 2:
Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

Module 3:
Sexualities: Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer+ Identities

Module 4:
Gender Identities: Two-Spirit, Trans, and Non-Binary Identities

Module 5:
Trauma and 2SLGBTQ+ People

Module 6:
Implementing 2SLGBTQ+ Trauma-Informed Care at the Individual, Organizational, and Systems-Level

Continuing Education

This document includes a list of sources we consulted to create the curriculum, as well as resources for further education. Building Competence, Building Capacity: A 2SLGBTQ+ Competent Trauma-Informed Care Workshop for Service Providers

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