Youth Services: Mental Health Department

The Center’s Mental Health Department provides FREE and confidential bilingual (Spanish), bicultural (Latinx/American), holistic, client-centered, and gender-affirming mental health services to LGBTQ+ youth (primarily between ages 16-24), in partnership with the SF Department of Children Youth and their families, San Francisco Health Network, Behavioral Health Services, and Mental Health Service Act of San Francisco.

We aim to reach LGBTQ+ youth currently facing barriers to accessing client centered mental health support. Currently, we support a high percentage of gender-expansive—transgender, non-binary, gender nonconforming, gender questioning—participants seeking gender-affirming therapy. Clients in the program work with our mental health therapists for as long as they need to reach their goals. For clients aging out of the program, we provide vital resources to ensure support for them in finding a new line of care.

Our department takes a client-centered approach to services by providing an accessible, safer, and inviting on-site environment that shifts away from traditional clinical settings. Our services are rooted in culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and restorative justice-based mental and behavioral health practices.

We provide the following services at no cost:

• In-person or virtual 1-on-1 appointments and consultations with our mental health specialists
• Mental health services such as therapy, case management, and crisis management 
• Written gender-affirming letters for clients in need
• Mental health referrals to other agencies, as needed

If you are interested in scheduling a consultation to discuss your mental health needs and care options, email youthmentalhealth@sfcenter.org. From there, our mental health specialists will reach out to you to determine potential next steps. 

Facilitated by our mental health team, our drop-in services will be in-person at the Center every Thursday between 3-5 pm PT.

This drop-in space aims to support LGBTQ+ youth who may be experiencing mild to moderate mental health symptoms like anxiety and depression. We’ll navigate life topics like transitioning, gender exploration, coming out, building self-esteem, and navigating relationships and conflict, among other situations.

We’ll see clients on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at youthmentalhealth@sfcenter.org or drop by our mental health drop-in hours to speak to a youth services team member.

You can also book a drop-in appointment with us and get 30 minutes of emotional support from one of our therapists on staff. 

We’re offering weekly, group therapy services for LGBTQ+ youth ages 16-24 in a variety of topic areas such as anxiety, depression, and managing stress:

Gender Youthphoria Support Group:

• In-Person: Every Thursday from 4:30-6 pm PT at the Center. This weekly in-person group is for trans, gender non-conforming, and questioning youth ages 16-24 looking for an affirming space to learn coping skills, discuss shared and individual challenges, and build community with each other. Sign up through this Google form link. Potential participants will hop on a brief assessment call prior to joining.

Guide to Finding A Therapist: Check out our downloadable resource that walks you through the steps to finding a therapist in non-crisis situations. This guide is complete with recommended resources, mental health services directories in the Bay Area, and care tips. 

Care Plans: Our team created a downloadable Care Plan form to support folks in streamlining care information that may be useful to have in one place during times of crisis. This plan can also be shared with support teams and others as needed. We’ve also included various support references within the form, such as call and text support lines, that may be helpful for community members who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. 

Are you looking to create your care plan? Check out these example documents to help you get started: Standard Care Plan and Care Plan – 16pt. font. 

Note that these example documents serve as templates, so feel free to get creative and personalize your plan according to your individual needs.