Telehealth LGBTQ-Affirmative Individual and Family Therapy for Sexual and Gender Minority Adults with Nonaccepting Parents

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the effectiveness of two types of LGBTQ-affirmative psychotherapies delivered via telehealth for sexual and gender minority adults who have nonaccepting parents. The study focuses on adults living in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Israel. It aims to see if these therapies reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety and to understand how specific factors like rejection sensitivity and parental acceptance affect mental health outcomes. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either a 16-week course of individual LGBTQ-affirmative cognitive behavioral therapy CBT or 16 sessions of attachment-based family therapy ABFT-SGM. The CBT sessions are delivered weekly and focus on addressing minority stress mechanisms, while the family therapy involves sessions with the adult child alone, with their parents, and with the parents alone, aiming to improve the parent-child relationship regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. During the study, participants will complete assessments measuring depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, internalized stigma, emotion regulation, parental acceptance and rejection, and relationship quality at the start, immediately after treatment, and five months later. The researchers will monitor changes in these areas to evaluate treatment effects and mechanisms. The total duration of participation includes the 16-week therapy period plus follow-up assessments up to five months post-intervention.

Affirmative Family and Individual Psychotherapy for Sexual and Gender Minority Adults and Their Nonaccepting Parents