{"id":27211,"date":"2023-06-14T21:01:26","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T21:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=27211"},"modified":"2024-03-06T22:44:02","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T22:44:02","slug":"greater-lakes-mental-healthcare-tacoma-transgender-teen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/greater-lakes-mental-healthcare-tacoma-transgender-teen\/","title":{"rendered":"Family, friends &amp; Greater Lakes therapist empower Tacoma trans teen","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Meet Eli Smith and you\u2019ll undoubtedly catch his infectious smile. The seventh grader\u2019s quick wit, ready laugh and complete confidence are a joy to behold.<\/p>\n<p>Smith began consciously diving into gender identity and expression in fifth grade when he and a classmate researched and presented on LGBTQ+ awareness. During the project, Smith reflected on how he didn\u2019t feel like he fit into a specific gender box, and later began identifying as transgender.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve thought of myself as trans for a year and a half and have been bisexual since fifth grade,\u201d he shares. \u201cMy friends and family have been really supportive. They have really helped me feel safe and that I am worthy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smith has also found an ally in his therapist Kathryn \u201cKatey\u201d Willis, LMHC, LMFT, CCTP. Willis is part of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.glmhc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Greater Lakes Mental Healthcare\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/greater-lakes-in-school-counseling-mental-health-care\/\">school-based services<\/a>. She meets with Smith one-on-one at his middle school and with the whole family primarily through telehealth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I first came to Katey, one of the first things she asked me was, \u2018What are your pronouns, and how can I respect these?\u2019\u201d Smith remembers. \u201cShe didn\u2019t assume, and she\u2019s been calling me \u2018he\/him\u2019 like I told her. I think the reason I was so confident in coming out to certain people was because of her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Transgender (including nonbinary) youth living with people who respect their pronouns report lower rates of attempting suicide compared to those living with people who do not respect their pronouns, according to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetrevorproject.org\/survey-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Trevor Project\u2019s 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Willis has also been a help to Smith\u2019s mom and advocate Laura Pedlar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a great service to have another adult to support (kids in the local LGBTQ+ community),\u201d Pedlar says, tearing up.<\/p>\n<p>For Willis, identity is a common theme she encounters and encourages with her middle and high school clients.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis relationship with our self and this ability to understand our self, our needs and our feelings and how to express that to the world \u2014 that greatly impacts our mental health, our physical health, our functioning in all venues of our life and in our ability to function in society, be successful and sustainable,\u201d Willis explains. \u201cThis is not just a \u2018silly phase.\u2019 This is a big part of their exploration of who they are in their relationship with their self.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Celebrating Pride Month<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Every June we celebrate Pride Month, honoring the 1969 Stonewall Uprising and lifting up members of our LGBTQ+ communities.<\/p>\n<p>In this spirit, Smith offers the following words: \u201cEven if people tell you what you think or feel is wrong, it doesn\u2019t mean it is,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can love who you wanna love, be who you wanna be. If they think it\u2019s weird or wrong, that\u2019s their opinion. You don\u2019t have to be what they want you to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From Willis\u2019 perspective as an emotionally focused and person-centered therapist, she wants readers to know the relationship they have with themselves is their foundational, fundamental relationship.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo be able to nurture that in a way that feels authentic and just beautiful for you is going to set you up for a life of thriving,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<h2>Significance of donor funding<\/h2>\n<p>The Trevor Project\u2019s 2023 National Survey found that 41 percent of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year \u2014 and young people who are transgender (including nonbinary) and\/or people of color reported higher rates than their peers.<\/p>\n<p>Equitable and supportive programming can be part of the solution, and Willis and Smith would like to thank\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/give.multicare.org\/our-foundations\/multicare-behavioral-health-foundation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MultiCare Behavioral Health Foundation<\/a>\u00a0donors who help fund a variety of strategies to meet kids and adolescents where they are.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is such important work and such unique work we do in the schools and in the venues that people are living their lives,\u201d Willis says. \u201cTo support access to care is absolutely an incredible thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smith, too, sees the impact of community generosity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are helping kids grow,\u201d he shares. \u201cYou are helping kids find their voices and figure out what they want out of their lives or what they want in their relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meet Eli Smith and you\u2019ll undoubtedly catch his infectious smile. The seventh grader\u2019s quick wit, ready laugh and complete confidence are a joy to behold. Smith began consciously diving into gender identity and expression in fifth grade when he and a classmate researched and presented on LGBTQ+ awareness. During the project, Smith reflected on how [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":103,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,67,75,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behavioral-health","category-kids-health","category-foundations","category-profiles-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mental health therapist empowers Tacoma trans teen - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Eli Smith began diving into gender identity in fifth grade when he researched and presented on LGBTQ+ awareness. 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He didn\u2019t feel like he fit into a specific gender.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/give.multicare.org\/family-friends-and-greater-lakes-therapist-help-empower-tacoma-trans-teen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-14T21:01:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-06T22:44:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/derwl0zbi\/image\/upload\/v1686776258\/mc-prd\/eli-smith.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shelby Taylor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Mental health therapist empowers Tacoma trans teen - MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Eli Smith began diving into gender identity in fifth grade when he researched and presented on LGBTQ+ awareness. 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