The Seaway Valley Community Health Centre (SVCHC) held its Annual General Meeting on June 22 along with a workshop focusing on understanding the lives of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth and adults.
“We are complex,” said Françoise Susset, M.A., a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist. A portion of Susset’s lecture focused on the essentialist theories for sexual orientation: genes, hormones and physiology. “Our brain changes according to our life experiences,” she explained, adding, there is nothing predictable in genes pattern.
Bill Ryan, Med, MSW, was also featured during the SVCHC’s workshop on sexual orientation. Ryan is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in issues related to sexual orientation, youth, the elderly, HIV prevention, same-sex families and parenting, among other issues. He teaches in the School of Social Work as well as in the Gender and Sexual Diversity Program at McGill University in Montréal.
Susset has over twenty years of experience working with LGBTQ individuals, couples and families. For several years, she participated in the general mental health training and clinical supervision of residents in Family Medicine from the Université de Montréal Medical School.
Although people believe they may know all about sexual orientation and the reasons why people are gay or lesbian, most of the knowledge did not come in an academic setting. Ryan and Susset have recommended a few websites for anyone interested in learning more: www.egale.ca, www.rainbowhealthontario.ca and to learn more about Ryan and Susset visit www.ishm-isms.com.
