MISSION
The mission of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Institute (SOGI) is to expand national access to high-quality culturally competent mental health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and their families across the lifespan. Using live and Web-based formats, the Institute offers outstanding graduate training and provides high-quality professional development programming. The Institute also works to advance clinical practice through the promotion of research on sexual minority behavioral health issues.

Graduate Student Training
Students pursuing advanced degrees in counseling, social work and psychology will find fulfilling opportunities at Center on Halsted for gaining clinical experience working with Chicago’s LGBT community. SOGI offers comprehensive practicum and internships in outpatient psychotherapy. This training includes weekly individual and group supervision, didactic seminars, and clinical work with individuals, couples, and group therapies. External rotations may be available through the Chicago LGBTQ Behavioral Health Training Consortium, which the Center has formed with other community partners.

Our clinical training year begins in mid-July. Psychotherapy students are asked to commit a minimum of 20 hours a week to the site. With the Center’s expansive hours of operation there is flexibility in creating a schedule. Given the demand for services, trainees are asked to include hours for evening and/or Saturday appointments. All students must be on-site Wednesdays from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm for staff meetings and training seminars.

Applicants should submit the following materials:

• Cover letter (specifically addressing your interest in work at COH)
• Resume/Vita
• 2 letters of reference
• Writing sample (class paper, case review, etc. not to exceed 3 pages)

Materials should be mailed to:
Dr. Braden Berkey
Center on Halsted
3656 North Halsted
Chicago, IL 60613

Completed applications will be reviewed by our training committee and offers for interviews are extended in March. Please contact the Director of SOGI at 773.472.6469 or write SOGI@centeronhalsted.org for additional information.

Professional Seminar Series
Center on Halsted offers continuing education workshops for graduate students and practicing professionals who want to enhance their clinical work with LGBT individuals, couples and their families. These trainings are conducted by SOGI faculty who are seasoned clinicians and instructors specializing in the issues faced by our community.

A sampling of recently offered trainings includes:

• Invisible and Ignored: Understanding LGBT Individuals with Disabilities
• Making Difficult Ethical Decisions in Psychotherapy
• Transgender Pharmacopoeia
• Professional Development as a Clinical Supervisor
• Addressing Substance Abuse Issues in Psychotherapy with LGBT Clients

The Center is licensed by the State of Illinois to provide continuing education credits for social workers and professional counselors completing SOGI trainings. Please check our monthly event calendar for current offerings.

Healthcare Forums
Throughout the year SOGI conducts public forums that bridge the gap between cutting edge research and clinical practice. These presentations provide a unique opportunity for investigators, practitioners and consumers to share their perspectives. Past forums have focused on lesbian health care, suicide in the LGBT community and access to behavioral healthcare.

Conferences and Symposiums
SOGI celebrated the opening of the Center on Halsted with its first LGBT Mental Health Summit in June 2007. The conference focused on lifespan development, with a particular emphasis on behavioral health issues in the older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population.

At a regional level, mental health providers, service program administrators, health department representatives and consumers representing diverse economic, ethnic and racial backgrounds conferred to provide a comprehensive review of existing mental health services across the lifespan available in the Chicago metropolitan area. These subject matter experts formulated a critique of current policies and practices, providing a roadmap for the development of age-appropriate and culturally competent services.

In 2008 the Institute partnered with the Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities (CARAS) to launch the first Alternative Sexualities Conference. CARAS is a national group with bases in San Francisco and the Washington, D.C. area. The annual conference is designed to provide clinical perspectives, empirical data and opportunities to discuss the challenges encountered in psychotherapy with individuals and couples in the alternative sexuality communities. It is believed to be the only forum of its kind.

The partner organizations host the event on alternating years. The 2010 Alternative Sexualities Conference will be held on September 26th in San Francisco. The 2011 event is scheduled for May 26th in Chicago.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ALTERNATIVE SEXUALITIES CONFERENCE PROGRAM

SOGI event sponsors have included:





Advancing Research
The Institute works to advance clinical practice through the promotion of research on LGBT behavioral health issues. This is accomplished through investigations conducted at the Center, partnering on research with other organizations and by linking members of the community to studies they may participate in.

CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF RESEARCH STUDIES

CLICK HERE FOR SOGI FOUNDING ADVISORY COUNCIL

CLICK HERE FOR Student Training Opportunities