HMT 008: We Are One – In the PRIDE Way with Melissa DaSilva
Pauline Mental Health Training, Podcast
June 27, 2017 by Pauline
Our Topic Today: The LGBTQ Community and Mental Wellness
Our Guest Today: Melissa DaSilva
Melissa is the creator and host of “Pride Connections” podcast, a weekly LGBTQI show that inspires others to do great things in our world and to connect inspiring LGBTQ community members to each other.
After graduated from Rhode Island College with a focus on School Social work, she has worked for many years in schools creating programs and teaching health. It was at this time she became aware of the needs of LGBTQ students and the staff working with them.
Wanting to take a step further and create more change in the world, Melissa opened her first business, “East Coast Mental Wellness”, a mental health agency in which she specialized in working with LGBTQ individuals and couples. She uses a holistic approach to therapy, by helping clients to achieve balance and harmony in body-mind-spirit. Some tools include talk therapy, meditation, yoga, pet therapy and art.
She continues to enlighten the lives of many people by offering trainings and workshops to schools and businesses facilitating interaction with LGBTQ individuals.
>> Pride Connections – Melissa’s Show
>> East Coast Wellness Centre – Melissa’s Therapy Website
You’ll learn:
- The story behind Pride Month and what LGBTQ stands for
- What transgender really means
- Why Melissa has chosen to specialize in the LGBTQ area
- Whether people under the category of LGBTQ are treated equally
- The biggest struggle the LGBTQ group are facing andhow that influence their emotions and mental health
- What could be done to protect oneself from emotional problems/suicide issues if s/he is identified as LGBTQ
- How to cope with stressful situations related to our identities in society
- How family and friends can support them
- How Melissa handles LGBTQ cases when they approach her
- The pivotal things that could help the LGBTQ group lead a happy life
- What the public can do to show their support and love to the LGBTQ community
Words of Wisdom by Melissa DaSilva
It’s not our job to label somebody else. You just identify them as they identify themselves.
Just be you. You don’t have to conform to what people think that you need to do. Just be okay with you if that’s how you’re okay.
Valuable Tips
- Use appropriate pronouns “they, them, their” until proven differently
- Use neutral language
- Micro-aggression is discrimination and eats up people, so be aware of that!
- Not assume who somebody is and how they identify
- Find the support network because that will help you get through the difficult times
As a parent, you can…
-
- Start when kids are young to talk about same-gendered couples as if they are couples with different gender
- Don’t make LGBTQ a topic that is different or to be whispered about
- Allow kids to express themselves
- Listen, not judge
-
- Keep the conversation open and be supportive
Take-away messages
- We are all in ONE BIG FAMILY, so respect one other and appreciate our unique differences.
- Take pride in yourself, in who you truly are!
Resources Mentioned
- Boys Don’t Cry – a film about the real-life story of Brandon Teena, an American Female-born trans man, who adopts a male identity and attempts to find himself and love in Nebraska but falls victim to a brutal crime perpetrated by two male acquaintances.
When We Rise – an American docudrama miniseries about the LGBT Rights movement in the United States, beginning with the Stonewall riots in 1969.
The Genderbread Person – an infographic that helps you visualize and distinguish the differences among gender identity, gender expression, biological sex, and sexual orientation
Grab your FREE Happiness Map! Learn 3 Powerful Ways to break the negative mental feedback loop & create positive vibes!
We’re One lyrics from The Lion King II movie: Simba’s Pride
Tears of pain, tears of joy
One thing nothing can destroy
Is our pride, deep inside
We are one
We are one, you and I
We are like the earth and sky
One family under the sun
Share your thoughts with me in the comments below! I would love hearing from you!
Thanks for listening to Happy Mind Travel!
Leave me an iTunes review to show us some LOVE for this show!
I read every comment. Your feedback will help me improve this podcast and create more content on mental health training for you! Share this show with your friends & family so that many more incredible souls like you could find Happy Mind Travel to go on their happiness journey! I appreciate your contribution to this mission in advance!
Grab your FREE Happiness Map! Learn 3 Powerful Ways to break the negative mental feedback loop & create positive vibes!
Subscribe to Happy Mind Travel!
Grab your FREE Happiness Map! Learn 3 Powerful Ways to break the negative mental feedback loop & create positive vibes!
Connect with me on
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Clammr
Enjoy to be happy!
Learn 3 Powerful Ways to break the negative mental feedback loop & create positive vibes!
Grab your FREE Happiness Map!
June 27, 2017 by Pauline
Our Topic Today: The LGBTQ Community and Mental Wellness
Our Guest Today: Melissa DaSilva
Melissa is the creator and host of “Pride Connections” podcast, a weekly LGBTQI show that inspires others to do great things in our world and to connect inspiring LGBTQ community members to each other.
After graduated from Rhode Island College with a focus on School Social work, she has worked for many years in schools creating programs and teaching health. It was at this time she became aware of the needs of LGBTQ students and the staff working with them.
Wanting to take a step further and create more change in the world, Melissa opened her first business, “East Coast Mental Wellness”, a mental health agency in which she specialized in working with LGBTQ individuals and couples. She uses a holistic approach to therapy, by helping clients to achieve balance and harmony in body-mind-spirit. Some tools include talk therapy, meditation, yoga, pet therapy and art.
She continues to enlighten the lives of many people by offering trainings and workshops to schools and businesses facilitating interaction with LGBTQ individuals.
>> Pride Connections – Melissa’s Show
>> East Coast Wellness Centre – Melissa’s Therapy Website
You’ll learn:
- The story behind Pride Month and what LGBTQ stands for
- What transgender really means
- Why Melissa has chosen to specialize in the LGBTQ area
- Whether people under the category of LGBTQ are treated equally
- The biggest struggle the LGBTQ group are facing andhow that influence their emotions and mental health
- What could be done to protect oneself from emotional problems/suicide issues if s/he is identified as LGBTQ
- How to cope with stressful situations related to our identities in society
- How family and friends can support them
- How Melissa handles LGBTQ cases when they approach her
- The pivotal things that could help the LGBTQ group lead a happy life
- What the public can do to show their support and love to the LGBTQ community
Words of Wisdom by Melissa DaSilva
It’s not our job to label somebody else. You just identify them as they identify themselves.
Just be you. You don’t have to conform to what people think that you need to do. Just be okay with you if that’s how you’re okay.
Valuable Tips
- Use appropriate pronouns “they, them, their” until proven differently
- Use neutral language
- Micro-aggression is discrimination and eats up people, so be aware of that!
- Not assume who somebody is and how they identify
- Find the support network because that will help you get through the difficult times
As a parent, you can…
-
- Start when kids are young to talk about same-gendered couples as if they are couples with different gender
- Don’t make LGBTQ a topic that is different or to be whispered about
- Allow kids to express themselves
- Listen, not judge
-
- Keep the conversation open and be supportive
Take-away messages
- We are all in ONE BIG FAMILY, so respect one other and appreciate our unique differences.
- Take pride in yourself, in who you truly are!
Resources Mentioned
- Boys Don’t Cry – a film about the real-life story of Brandon Teena, an American Female-born trans man, who adopts a male identity and attempts to find himself and love in Nebraska but falls victim to a brutal crime perpetrated by two male acquaintances.
When We Rise – an American docudrama miniseries about the LGBT Rights movement in the United States, beginning with the Stonewall riots in 1969.
The Genderbread Person – an infographic that helps you visualize and distinguish the differences among gender identity, gender expression, biological sex, and sexual orientation
Grab your FREE Happiness Map! Learn 3 Powerful Ways to break the negative mental feedback loop & create positive vibes!
We’re One lyrics from The Lion King II movie: Simba’s Pride
Tears of pain, tears of joy
One thing nothing can destroy
Is our pride, deep inside
We are one
We are one, you and I
We are like the earth and sky
One family under the sun
Share your thoughts with me in the comments below! I would love hearing from you!
Thanks for listening to Happy Mind Travel!
Leave me an iTunes review to show us some LOVE for this show!
I read every comment. Your feedback will help me improve this podcast and create more content on mental health training for you! Share this show with your friends & family so that many more incredible souls like you could find Happy Mind Travel to go on their happiness journey! I appreciate your contribution to this mission in advance!
Grab your FREE Happiness Map! Learn 3 Powerful Ways to break the negative mental feedback loop & create positive vibes!
Subscribe to Happy Mind Travel!
Grab your FREE Happiness Map! Learn 3 Powerful Ways to break the negative mental feedback loop & create positive vibes!
Connect with me on
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Clammr
Enjoy to be happy!
Learn 3 Powerful Ways to break the negative mental feedback loop & create positive vibes!
Grab your FREE Happiness Map!