Happy Wednesday, friends and followers! In case you missed our presentation at the OKC PFLAG meeting last night, we decided to go ahead and share the information here, too!

​I guess the best place to start is: ​what the heck is affirmative therapy? ​So glad you asked, reader! Affirmative therapy is an approach to therapy that goes beyond tolerance; affirmative therapy embraces LGBTQ identities and relationships as valid and positive, while simultaneously identifying and addressing the impact that bias and prejudice have on LGBTQ individuals.

As a therapist, this means I have to first reflect on and acknowledge any personal bias and privilege I bring to the table in this therapeutic relationship. It also means I need to assess my practice space to ensure that it is not just positive, but welcoming and safe for any individual, couple, or family that walks through my door. Another part of being an affirming clinician is staying competent! There is already a large disparity in the quality and competency of mental health treatment for LGBTQ individuals, and the last thing we want is for our clients to feel like they have to educate us before therapy can begin. So staying updated on correct language and best practices is always a priority at BEFS. Another aspect of being an affirming agency is advocacy. BEFS has always embraced advocacy for our clients as one of our moral pillars,

​Perhaps one of the most important parts of affirmative therapy is visibility. In Oklahoma, the number of outspokenly affirmative agencies is limited. I've experienced multiple agencies that quietly accepted LGBTQ clients, but were concerned that hanging a rainbow flag on their door would deter differently-minded clients from utilizing their services. I never understood the secrecy of being LGBTQ-friendly, and so our yearn for an openly affirmative space was born before we even knew there was a name for it, and it became the driving force behind BEFS opening its doors. We never started BEFS for the money, after all, we started BEFS to meet a need in our community for quality, competent, judgement-free services for the most vulnerable.

​Which brings me to what I imagine would be your next question: ​Okay, but why is affirmative therapy important?​ Well, let's talk  numbers. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) found that 42% of LGBTQ youth say their home community is not accepting. 26% of LGBTQ youth say their biggest problems are not feeling accepted by their family, experiencing bullying at school, and fearing being out and open. 92% of LGBTQ youth reported they hear negative messages about being LGBTQ from their school, the internet, and their peers. Do you see a trend? I do. Acceptance.​ LGBTQ youth are already 4x more likely to attempt suicide, experience suicidal ideation, or self-harm than their heterosexual, cisgender peers. Now couple being LGBTQ with the intolerance and rejection of their family members, and those youth are 8x more likely to attempt suicide than an individual who received support from their family. 

​Did those numbers scare you? They sure scared me. So that's why BEFS is an openly affirmative agency. If we miss out on a couple of referrals because of it, we're okay with that. It is more important for us to be accessible to youth, and part of that is visibility. More people are identifying as LGBTQ than ever before, and we are here for it. We want to be a hopeful, supportive place for all individuals to be able to learn skills to function and thrive. We want to be an agency of change. We want you to walk through our door and feel safe and confident being your most authentic self. 

Welcome! This page will be designed specifically to help improve accessibility to resources for our community, as well as to provide updates on happenings at BEFS. We hope you follow along and thank you for your patience as we work on getting content for this page up and running!

​In the meantime, here's a brief history of how Bright Eyes Family Services came to be:

​Becky and Falon met as coworkers for the same counseling agency in 2012. After years of collaborating care on client caseloads, they became friends and trusted colleagues, founding and co-facilitating a therapy group for teenage girls from around the Oklahoma City metro while continuing to provide individual therapy, behavioral health rehabilitation, and case management services. 

​A need was identified for services targeted specifically at adolescents and young adults, who experience unique periods of transition between the traditional treatment demographics of "child" and "adult". The duo also noticed a stark lack of affirmative therapy options for LGBTQ+ youth in their area. To address this gap in competent services, Becky and Falon decided to start their own mental health counseling agency, and in 2015 Bright Eyes Family Services became an official LLC.

By treating adolescents and young adults as their own category, clients are able to receive services that address their unique needs as they struggle with depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and more in a space that is safe and supportive. Using an approach that is neither sterile nor judgmental, Becky and Falon are able to connect with their clients in a way that is both professional and personal. 

​The hope for BEFS moving forward is to stand out as a different kind of counseling agency by increasing accessibility to quality mental health services while advocating and educating to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness and mental health treatment.