Diversity encloses much more than sexual orientation and gender identity. Rainbow families (and LGBTI people in general) can be very diverse within and among themselves in relation to various biological, social and cultural categories – such as gender, ethnicity, age, class, (dis)ability, religion, and other dimensions of identity. The first step to embrace (and promote) diversity lies on being aware of our own cultural baggage and biases. The goal of this workshop is to encourage, through practical exercises, self-awareness and self-knowledge to develop participants’ sensitivity towards individual and cultural diversity. In this way, we aim to ultimately promote more positive identity development and more ability to make use of our supportive relationships and our communities, which have been shown to be central in resilience.
Carla Moleiro is a clinical psychologist. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Psychology at the School of Social Sciences and Humanities of Lisbon University Institute (ISCTE-IUL). She obtained her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA. As a researcher, she works on mental health of diverse groups such as LGBT youth, adults and families, as well as on the development of individual and cultural diversity competences among health professionals, teachers, social workers and all those professionals who may be important resources for rainbow families.