People often experience a range of emotions and difficulties during and after scary, dangerous, or extremely upsetting events. Examples of traumatic events include experiences of violence, abuse, natural disasters, or car accidents. It is normal to feel overwhelmed after these kinds of experiences.

After traumatic experiences, some develop posttraumatic disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a mental health condition defined by symptoms like:

• - Feeling on guard for danger 
• - Avoiding things, places, and people that remind you of traumatic events 
• - Intrusive memories, such as nightmares or flashbacks about traumatic events
• - Feeling hopelessness, shame, anger, or guilt
• - Having trouble concentrating or remembering things

If you think you may have PTSD and are interested in joining the LIFESCAPE Study, please call (415) 502-4859. If you are looking for mental health and LGBTQIA+-affirming resources, please visit the Resources page of our site.

If you need immediate support or care, please call 911 or 988.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is cognitive behavioral therapy that has been well studied and shown to be effective for patients with PTSD. CPT teaches skills to help participants process their beliefs and emotions related to traumatic events.

STAIR Narrative Therapy (SNT) is a cognitive behavioral therapy that has been well studied and shown to be effective for patients with PTSD. SNT teaches emotion management skills and helps participants explore ways to think about traumatic events.

When we started this study, we learned that the lack of research on PTSD among LGBTQIA+ people made it difficult to advocate for needed policies, for providers to provide the best possible care for LGBTQIA+ people, and for patients to access needed care.

We are grateful to be working with the LIFESCAPE Patient Leadership Team. This is a team of LGBTQIA+ patient advocates from California who are sharing their expertise, insights, and experiences to guide the design, implementation, and dissemination of this research so LIFESCAPE may be useful to LGBTQIA+ people with PTSD who are seeking mental health care.

We are also grateful to be working with the LIFESCAPE Stakeholder Advisory Board. This advisory board is comprised of healthcare advocates, representative of LGBTQIA+-serving clinics across the country, stakeholders in payor systems, and stakeholders in major health systems. This advisory board is working with us throughout this research project to inform the design, implementation, and dissemination of this research.

Questions? Please contact us at 650-497-7112 or [email protected]

You can find answers to some FAQs here: <<PDF download of FAQs>> coming soon!