Wisteria Program: Mental Health Care Services for the LGBTQ Community
The Wisteria Program is an inpatient psychiatric program (22-bed) for members of the LGBTQ community. Wisteria is a safe and affirming program designed to treat LGBTQ patients struggling with situational or clinical depression, anxiety symptoms, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and other unhealthy behaviors.
The Wisteria Program uses evidence-based treatment modalities, trauma-informed care, and an individual treatment plan for adults within this community who are struggling with mental health concerns such as behavioral health disorders, anxiety disorders, depression, and other specific stressors.
Who Does This Program Help?
Today, people face many challenges and stressors on their journey that can lead to serious mental health difficulties. We all want to be seen and accepted as our authentic selves, but struggling with one’s identity can be especially difficult.
Living as a gender or sexual minority and expressing this identity while facing all the general difficulties of being a young person presents new and unfamiliar obstacles for some people.
Individuals in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning (LGBTQ) community often face a number of unjust issues:
- Social stigma
- Abuse
- Harassment
- Family rejection
The weight of rejection and social stigma combined with the increased risk of bullying, harassment, discrimination, and physical abuse impacts people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, or asexual (LGBTQIA+).
This community is also at an increased risk of a dual diagnosis of substance use and co-occurring behavioral health disorders. Research reports that members of this community are three times more likely to suffer from behavioral and mental health issues.
But there is hope.
The Wisteria Program is an LGBTQ safe zone. This program addresses psychological and emotional distress by examining how identifying as non-binary, trans, or queer can impact one’s health and well-being in a society that is not accepting of these gender differences.
Wisteria Program Mental Health Treatments
At Malvern Behavioral Health we work with each person to develop proper support, skills, and education so they can thrive in everyday life. Some of the mental health treatments that will be included in the Wisteria Program are:
- Exploration of gender identity, gender dysphoria, and social transition.
- Coping skills for anxiety
- Coping skills for depression
- Coping skills for suicidal thoughts
Our clinical programming helps to target psychological stress by using a multidisciplinary team, which consists of psychiatrists, social workers, clinicians, and nurses who are trained in providing affirming and culturally responsive mental health care services.
We provide affirming, evidence-based inpatient treatments for LGBTQ individuals, including behavioral health therapy, trauma-informed care, and individual, family, and group psychotherapy.
We will meet you as you are, where you are, for WHO you are.
If you or someone you know is seeking help, request more information about the Wisteria Program today.