Your Voice, Your Health
Your Voice, Your Health: A Gender-Inclusive & Neuro-affirming Guide to Mental and Physical Health Advocacy
By Melissa Lozito-Haskins, DSW, LICSW
(Melissa is on our Professional Advisory Board!)
Introduction
Navigating the health-care system, whether for mental or physical health, can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re managing ongoing conditions alongside barriers related to gender identity or neurodiversity. Yet every client has the right to care that respects who they are, how they experience the world, and what their body needs.
In this article, we’ll explore practical ways for individuals, their support networks, and their providers to advocate effectively by combining personal navigation tips and strategies for broader systemic change in both mental and physical health. Along the way, we’ll spotlight gender-inclusive and neuroaffirming practices to ensure your advocacy is as empowering and respectful as possible.
1. Understanding Patient Advocacy
Individual Advocacy
Speaking up for your own care: asking questions, clarifying options, and asserting rights in each appointment.Systemic Advocacy
Identifying policy or access gaps and partnering with organizations to drive equity and inclusion.Peer Advocacy
Supporting colleagues through shared learning and allyship so that inclusive practices become standard.
These three levels reinforce one another. When you learn to advocate for yourself, you become a stronger voice for systemic improvements and a better ally to peers.
2. Navigating the System as an Individual
Prepare Proactively
Mental Health: List your top 3 therapy goals or questions (e.g., “How can I adjust my treatment plan if I experience side effects?”).
Physical Health: Note symptoms, medication side effects, mobility or sensory needs, and any recent test results.
Communicate Your Identity & Needs
Pronouns & Names: “Hello, I’m Alex [they/them].”
Physical-Health Specifics: “I use a wheelchair and need a hydraulic lift to access the exam table. Could you please arrange that?”
Sensory Preferences: “Bright lights make me anxious. Could we dim the overhead lamp?”
Tip: Practice a short “Advocacy Script” before your visit:
“Hi, I’m Alex [they/them]. I’m here for my check-up. I’d like to review my past lab results, discuss my mental-health progress, and ensure we address my current mobility accommodations.”
3. Effecting Systemic Change
Spot the Barriers
Forms & Policies: Watch for intake forms that enforce binary gender options or omit disability accommodations.
Access Issues: Note whether appointment slots are too short for complex mental health or chronic-condition visits.
Partner with Organizations
Mental-Health Advocates: NAMI Washington provides support groups and policy advocacy training.
Physical-Health Advocates: The WA Medical Home Program and Disability Rights Washington welcome feedback on accessibility and coordination gaps.
Share Stories: Submitting your experience, whether about misgendering or inaccessible exam rooms, to state representatives or insurers can catalyze policy updates.
4. Supporting Colleagues in Clinical Settings
Form “Ally Check-Ins”
Host a monthly 15-minute huddle (in person or via Zoom) to discuss inclusive-care successes and brainstorm solutions for both mental and physical health challenges.
Share Learning
Distribute quick guides on gender-affirming language, trauma-informed physical assessments, and neurodiversity-affirming communication via your team’s shared drive or bulletin board.
Build Inclusive Workflows
Add fields for pronouns, communication preferences, and mobility or sensory accommodations to intake forms.
Ensure clear signage for accessible restrooms, exam rooms, and equip spaces with noise-reducing headphones or fidget tools.
5. Embedding Gender-Inclusive & Neuroaffirming Strategies
Intake & Forms:
Include free-text fields for pronouns, sensory needs, and mobility accommodations alongside standard questions.Physical Environment:
Offer adjustable exam tables, weighted blankets, clear wayfinding, and quiet rooms to support sensory differences.Communication Modes:
Provide discharge instructions and treatment summaries in multiple formats, such as written, visual, or recorded, so clients can review at their own pace.Self-Advocacy Coaching:
Role-play conversations to build confidence asking for accommodations, clarifications, or policy exceptions.
6. Practical Tips & Resources
Resource
Focus
Contact / Link
WA Trans Health Program
Gender-affirming care
NAMI Washington
Mental-health support groups & advocacy training
WA Medical Home Program
Chronic physical-health care coordination
Disability Rights Washington
Accessibility & policy advocacy
Neurodiversity Affirming Toolkit
Sensory-friendly mental & physical care
Conclusion & Call to Action
Advocacy starts with small steps: stating your pronouns, requesting needed accommodations, or sharing feedback on a form. Each time you and/or a client speaks up, they not only improve their own care but pave the way for others. Whether you’re preparing for your next therapy session, coordinating a specialist visit, or joining colleagues for an Ally Check-In, these strategies can help you and the entire system become more inclusive and affirming. If you’d like hands-on support, please reach out to schedule an Advocacy Coaching Workshop or explore the resources linked above. We can also discuss this during your sessions for further support! Together, we can build a health-care system that honors every identity and way of thinking.
--
Kind regards,
Melissa Lozito-Haskins, DSW, LICSW (she/her)
Owner/Therapist
Empowering Minds PLLC
Phone: (425) 224-5020
Email: melissa@empoweringmindspllc.com
Website: www.empoweringmindspllc.com
"Empathy has no script. There is no right way or wrong way to do it. It's simply listening, holding space, withholding judgement, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing measure of 'you're not alone.' "
- Brene Brown
EMERGENCY:
If you are in crisis, call 911 or 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) or go to your nearest emergency room. I do not offer crisis counseling or emergency services.
48-HOUR CANCELLATION POLICY:
Your therapy time is reserved for you. Please cancel within 48 hours to avoid a full fee charge for a missed appointment. For couples, if one person is ill, this is an opportunity for an individual session with the other partner.
CONFIDENTIALITY:
This communication and attachments are confidential and are intended for the use of the addressee. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited and/or unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, immediately notify the sender by replying to the email and delete i