Join us for our regular monthly meeting welcoming the entire spectrum of LGBTQ+ community, friends, families, and allies for support and education. Our regular support group will follow the education portion.
Our PFLAG general support meetings will be held both in person and via Zoom. Please note: all persons who wish to attend our in person meetings must be Fully Vaccinated against Covid-19.
Virtual meeting attendees still require RSVP. If you are new to Zoom, CLICK HERE to get set-up.
Please RSVP to rsvp@pflagmanhattanbeach.org
EDUCATION PORTION:
Eating Disorders within the LGBTQ+ Community
with Christine Vara LCSW-C, LICSW, M.Div. (She, Her + He, Him)
This meeting's focus:
Eating Disorders disproportionately affect people who identify within the LGBTQ+ community. After reviewing some basic things to look out for, how to respond and when to seek additional help, you'll have a chance to ask questions of a person who identifies as non-binary, has been working with folx in recovery for over five years, and gives presentations all over the country on the intersection of ED (eating disorder) recovery and LGBTQ+ identity.
About our presenter:
Christine Vara LCSW-C, LICSW, M.Div., (She, Her, Hers or He, Him, His), identifies as non-binary and is an independently licensed social worker in Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia and is also a licensed supervisor in Maryland and Massachusetts. Christine runs a private practice where he provides clinical supervision, along with individual and family counseling for adolescents, families and adults. Before working as a clinician and clinical supervisor in programs for clients recovering from eating disorders, Christine received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and English from Clark University, a Master’s of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion, and a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from Simmons University. Christine is passionate about providing training to organizations invested in creating inclusive environments for people in systemically oppressed communities. He is particularly interested in working at the intersection of trauma, eating disorders and addiction, and how that connects to identities of gender, race, sexuality and religion/spirituality. Christine utilizes a variety of therapeutic modalities in her relational, strengths-based and trauma-informed approach.
A NOTE ABOUT VIRTUAL MEETINGS:
We will be utilizing Zoom features that provide the highest level of safety and confidentiality possible. Zoom is free to you and you need not have an account to join us. If you are new to Zoom, you can follow the links [here] for brief tutorials on all you need to know to sign on to a Zoom meeting with us. We ask that each of you that would like to participate in the on-line support, contact us in advance by email at rsvp@pflagmanhattanbeach.org to RSVP for the meeting. We will cut off RSVPs at 5 p.m. on the day of the meeting. All participants will receive a follow-up email with the link to the Zoom call and a password. For confidentiality’s sake, please do not forward these to another participant — they are welcome to contact us directly to receive the link.
We ask that youth who may want to join for our support groups to please be joined by a parent. Some heavy emotions can emerge in the course of our sessions and having a parent on-hand helps to ensure that the needs of any youth on the call are met.
There are some benefits to utilizing new tools like Zoom. We recognize that our typical evening support group meetings are not feasible for everyone due to work, family or other demands. If there is a need, we would like to offer an additional support group Zoom conference call sometime during the daytime hours. If you are interested in a daytime support group, email us at info@pflagmanhattanbeach.org and let us know what times might be more workable for you.
If you need more personalized assistance and support, we remain here for you. Email us confidentially and we will work with you to identify the best member of our team to assist with your individual needs.