LGBTQ members to talk mental health this Independence Day
The meet will also see the release of a manual for the parents of LGBTQ, to help them find counsellors if need be.
On the occasion of the country 70th Independence Day, the city's LGBTQ community will focus on the freedom of conversation with families, friends and allies to draw attention to the community's challenges. In the Acceptance Meet, to be held on Monday, Humsafar Trust (HST) and Love Matters members will discuss the importance of acceptance and bridging the communication gap.
Also, this year's theme would be mental health of LGBTQ members in different walks of life.
In addition, guest of honour Dr Anjali Chabria will launch a 60-page manual for counsellors, titled Strengthening Bridges – a manual for counsellors to support parents of LGBTQ, authored by advocacy manager Koninika Roy and Richa Vashista, clinical psychologist at the Humsafar Trust. The manual also has experiences that parents had with counsellors. "The book isn't for parents but for counsellors because it helps them help parents," said Vashista.
Besides this, there will be a panel discussion with psychiatrist Armaan Pandey, education expert Jayshree Murli and lawyer Kranti, along with other, for discussing mental health issues.
"The larger part of the issue is that we are socially handicapped. The stigma diverts our energies towards explaining and hiding our identity from our family, friends and colleagues. This is a meet to bridge that gap," said LGBTQ activist Pallav Patankar.