Recognizing that all of us have a sexual orientation and gender identity is an important first step to helping destigmatizing the healthcare field and better advocating for equitable treatment accessibility for all populations.

Sexual orientation, better defined as "who you are romantically or physically attracted to," should not change the quality or access to care that one receives (Mental Health America, 2024). Similarly, one's gender identity, or the "internal sense of being male, female, both or neither, which is separate from your biological sex" has sometimes become a devisive subject for healthcare professionals who often lack the cultural sensitivity to properly engage with and understand populations which may differ from their own (Mental Health America, 2024).

 It is crucial to understand that being a member of the LGBTQ+ community is NOT a mental illness or disorder. And yet, with 7.1% of the U.S. adult population self-identifying as LGBTQ+, this community is "more than twice as likely as heterosexual men and women to have a mental health disorder in their lifetime" according to a 2017 report published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA, 2017).