Healthcare and mental Health resources
Rights and resources for accessing care
A4TE: Know Your Rights - Healthcare - Learn about your rights regarding insurance coverage, your rights when receiving healthcare, what to do if you face discrimination, and what laws protect your rights (Note: the current landscape of state policy may impact the content of this resource)
Transition to Adulthood: A Health Care Guide for Youth and Families - A comprehensive toolkit created by the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network in order to help disabled youth manage their own healthcare as they transition into adulthood; it includes useful guides and worksheets for keeping track of health care records, making doctor’s appointments, and talking to doctors about health concerns
A Transgender Survivor’s Guide to Accessing Therapy - An extensive guide for transgender and gender-expansive survivors of abuse, assault, and trauma who are seeking support and healing, includes checklists to use for a screening interview/consultation, your first session, and continuing with therapy
Trans Health Care Providers - This webpage contains links to resources and directories to help you find competent and affirming healthcare providers
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory - A searchable database for affirming healthcare providers who opted into being included in the directory; view telehealth/virtual providers only, use the filters to narrow down what kind of services you’re looking for, or search providers by approach
The OutList: LGBTQ+ Affirming Healthcare Directory - Open to all healthcare providers of any identity and specialty, this international directory can help you find LGBTQ+ friendly and affirming providers; search by keyword, type in your location, select a specialty, or use all three to refine your search
Erin Reed’s Informed Consent HRT Access Map - An article on Them about a directory created by Erin Reed via Google My Maps of US clinics offering informed consent for hormone replacement therapy (Note: if you are a minor, your parent is the individual who will need to provide consent for you to access informed-consent-model services)
Point of Pride - Provides financial aid and direct support to trans folks in need of health and wellness care, including free binders and shapewear, an annual surgery fund, an HRT access fund, an electrolysis support fund, and small grants for a variety of gender-affirming health and wellness needs
Teen Clinics and Sexual Health
Variety Care - These clinics, based throughout the OKC metro area, provide care to all persons, regardless of income, residency status, employment, health insurance coverage, or ability to pay for services; explore our Variety Care resource directory to find a list of providers with special interest and training in caring for 2SLGBTQ+ patients, or visit their website to find information about their Teen Clinic Program
Community Health Connection - A comprehensive healthcare clinic with four locations around Tulsa that provides high-quality, accessible care regardless of a client’s ability to pay; find information and hours for their Teen Clinics here
H.O.P.E. Testing - This testing clinic provides health services for hepatitis C, HIV, and other STIs at their Tulsa clinic, works to increase accessibility to STI testing, and engages in outreach across Oklahoma focusing on the most at-risk, especially individuals who are uninsured, underinsured, or underserved; see Teen Clinic hours and explore resources for youth here
Trust Women - This network of clinics provides access to healthcare for those in need: the OKC location provides a variety of sexual health services, gender-affirming care, and low-barrier, medication-assisted treatment for opioid use
Guiding Right - This organization aims to improve access to healthcare, systems and services that improve the quality of life among Black Oklahomans and other marginalized communities across the state— specifically, working to reduce the rate of HIV/AIDS infections through HIV testing, prevention education, and case management; visit their website to learn about their CLEAR Program (for those 16+ living with/at risk for HIV/AIDS), or find details about their New Hope Wellness Center (OKC), Diversity Center (OKC), and Tulsa locations
Take Control Initiative - TCI provides free access to all birth control methods, implant and IUD removals, Lyft rides to partner clinics, and morning-after pill kits for eligible individuals; visit their website to find out about their Peer Health Educator Program, learn more about the various types of birth control options, check your eligibility for their free services, and find a clinic on their partner list (Note: The main webpage offers information for Tulsa County, but services are also available in the OKC area.)
Amplify Youth Health Collective - A nonprofit organization that aims to advance the sexual health and well-being of young adults through education, collaboration, and advocacy; the members of their Youth Leadership Council develop and lead projects that advance youth sexual health and well-being in Tulsa, are financially compensated for their work and enjoy access to a variety of resources along with skill-building and networking opportunities
honestly Youth Sexual Health - The OKC-based organization works to improve sexual health outcomes for youth by partnering with community leaders, providing medically accurate resources, and advocating for youth so that they can make healthy and informed decisions; explore their clinic directory here
Best Practices for Providers
Rad Remedy Standards of Care - Details national standards of competent care for trans, gender non-conforming, intersex, and queer (TGIQ) individuals including suggestions for patient-practice interactions, paperwork policies, office regulatory actions, human resource guidelines, and marketing/community engagement considerations
A Nurse’s Comprehensive Guide to Gender-Affirming Care - Provides basic information on transgender and gender non-conforming people, along with strategies that NPs and other front-line healthcare staff can use to create more affirming environments
Resources for LGBTQ Youth Health - These resources include trainings and webinars on how to provide optimal health services and health programs for LGBTQ youth, information on the health disparities experienced by LGBTQ youth, and resources regarding social support and advocacy relevant to LGBTQ youth
Coping and self-regulation
Trans and Queer Wellness Resources - Created by the GSA Network, this page was developed specifically for trans and queer youth of color who are working to create change in their schools and communities while balancing their physical and mental wellness, and includes recommended books and movies, guided meditations, and a variety of activities
99 Coping Skills - Explore a list of various coping skills compiled by Your Life Your Voice from Boys Town National Hotline
Coping with Gender Dysphoria - A list of 24 different coping strategies, some specific to coping with gender dysphoria and some general, put together by QLife, an Australian peer support and referral service
P.A.U.S.E. Self De-Escalation - A simple guide to help you identify, assess, and understand your emotions when you are feeling dysregulated, triggered, or upset
6 Steps to Mindfully Deal with Difficult Emotions - Walk yourself through these six actions if you are struggling with emotional overwhelm or simply wanting to improve your relationship with your feelings
Dealing with Difficult Emotions - Similar to the 6-step guide above, this graphic instructs you to be mindful, identify and accept the emotion you’re experiencing, question the emotion, decide what actions could be taken, be positive, and seek help if needed
A New Kind of Safety Plan - Traditional safety plans are contract-style documents that identify signs of crisis, internal coping mechanisms, external distractions, list individuals that the owner of the safety plan can reach out to for support, and provide numbers to crisis lines, but this author and clinical social worker reformatted the resource to create something a mental health professional would work on more collaboratively with their client, and included a script they might follow when helping a client fill out the safety plan
Pods and Pod Mapping Worksheet - Learn about “pods,” a term developed in 2014 by the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective, and complete an activity that can help you consider the people in your life with whom you have respectful, trusting, and reciprocal relationships with
Crisis Support
The Trevor Project - Call, text, or chat online 24/7, 7 days a week with the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit for LGBTQ+ youth, and you’ll be connected to counselors trained to understand the challenges that LGBTQ+ young people face and provide anonymous support where as much or as little as an individual likes can be shared
The LGBT National Youth Talkline (ages 25 and under) - Call Mon-Fri from 3p-11p and from 11a-4p on Saturdays CST or utilize the Online Peer Support Chat during the same operating hours as the Talkline to connect with a support volunteer that identifies within the LGBTQIA+ community, will provide peer support, and can connect you to local resources
The LGBT National Coming Out Support Hotline (all ages) - Call during the same operating hours as the Youth Talkline or utilize the Online Peer Support Chat to connect with a support volunteer that identifies within the LGBTQIA+ community and can talk to you about anything you have questions about or need support for around the coming-out process
Trans Lifeline - Call Mon-Fri 12pm-8pm CST to speak to a trans/nonbinary peer operator trained to provide you support while maintaining full anonymity & confidentiality and avoiding engaging in non-consensual active rescue (calling 911, law enforcement, or emergency services without your permission)
Domestic and Sexual Violence
DV Services and Shelters in Oklahoma - Connect with programs listed by city that provide domestic violence services and view statistics about the categories of services provided
DV Power and Control Wheel (easy site escape) - Learn about tactics that abusive partners use to keep survivors in a relationship (diagram assumes she/her pronouns for survivors and he/him pronouns for partners)
Power and Control Wheel for LGBTQ+ Relationships - Learn about tactics of abuse and control that pertain to LGBTQ+ relationships (no gendered pronouns)
The Role of Trusted Adults - An article and video from LifeSmart Youth that discusses how adults can build an environment of trust in order to allow for open communication and better support young people who have experienced teen dating violence
Resources for Survivors of Violence, Disasters, and Other Traumatic Experiences - A list from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center of helplines, safety planning resources, information about coping with retraumatization and disaster including how to support young people and children after disaster, and finally, resources to find food, housing, healthcare, and other supports near you
Love is Respect: An organization that offers comprehensive resources to engage, educate, and empower young people to prevent and end abusive relationships
RAINN: The nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization which runs the National Sexual Assault Hotline, where you can call or chat online for free, confidential, 24/7 support
The Oklahoma Prevention Leadership Committee - This organization builds multi-disciplinary connections and fosters collaboration among violence prevention specialists and allies in an effort to create a safer and more equitable Oklahoma; their Youth Advisory Subcommittee Council promotes sexual violence prevention through education and resource navigation for Oklahoma youth so that they feel empowered to make healthy decisions about their actions, bodies, and relationships
Additional Resources
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) - Review FAQs about finding inclusive providers, read national survey reports, explore agency and federal initiatives, and find other behavioral health resources here
Oklahoma Dept. of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) - Search for services near you, access the 988 Mental Health Lifeline, learn about treatment for substance use disorder, and explore resources on policy, prevention, recovery, research, treatment, and trainings
Ryse Pyramids - Diagrams detailing how adverse childhood experiences along with historical trauma/generational embodiment and social location impact individuals later in life
Youth Healthcare One-Pager - A sharable and printable PDF with resources for accessing healthcare, advocating for yourself in healthcare settings, and best practices that providers should follow when working with 2SLGBTQ+ youth
To explore resources for youth and young adults experiencing housing insecurity, scroll to the bottom of our housing resources page.