The "With That In Mind" Podcast · Red Bird Mental Health Services

Episode 41: With That In Mind | Exploring Child Therapy and LGBTQ+ Support with Kristi McGraw

·43 min·2 clips

Christy links LGBTQ support to suicide risk, depression, anxiety, and family rejection.

1. The With That in Mind Podcast episode centers on Christy McGraw’s work at Redbird Mental Health in Northeastern Pennsylvania. 2. Dr. Megan Velozorzi interviews Christy McGraw, a licensed social worker and therapist, because she works with children, LGBTQ clients, trauma, and OCD. 3. The episode asks what Christy’s clinical style looks like, from child therapy techniques to family support and identity-affirming care. 4. Christy says she joined Redbird Mental Health in summer 2023 and works in the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton areas. 5. She explains that Redbird treats trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, OCD, kids, teens, adults, and families. 6. Christy says she especially loves working with children because they experience and express the world differently from adults. 7. She describes therapy with children as more experiential, with art, play, drawing, and other creative techniques. 8. One example she gives is using character cards to build a child’s family tree, including a child who used Shrek as a dad. 9. Christy says those activities help reveal how children view the people in their lives and open conversations with parents. 10. She says she most likes working with trauma because of her own “pretty traumatic childhood” and chaotic upbringing. 11. Christy says that background helps her relate to children who lack control and need help processing stressful experiences. 12. She explains that her Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy training gives kids a guided process for understanding trauma and cognitive distortions. 13. Christy says she also completed graduate coursework in child and family services and chose social work because it emphasizes strengths and the person in the moment. 14. She distinguishes social work from psychology by describing psychology as more brain-focused and social work as more person-centered. 15. Christy says she has also worked for a domestic violence agency and in school-based behavioral health, but prefers being a therapist with kids. 16. On LGBTQ care, she says a two-hour safe-space training taught her to use gender-neutral language like “partner” instead of assuming a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife. 17. Christy says she is married to a woman and believes LGBTQ people are underserved in her area. 18. She says LGBTQ clients often struggle with suicide, suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, and family rejection, and she encourages “found family” and radical acceptance. 19. The episode has an open, conversational interview style, with Dr. Megan sharing her own schooling, family, and therapy experiences while Christy answers in practical detail. 20. Listeners who want child therapy ideas, trauma care, or LGBTQ family guidance will get the most from it, while people seeking a fast, entertainment-first episode may skip it.

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