Why Trust Matters in LGBTQ+ Health: Reflections from Over a Decade of Care

For more than ten years, I’ve had the privilege of caring for patients with diverse healthcare needs, including many in the LGBTQ+ community. Over time, one truth has become undeniable: trust is not optional in medicine — it is the foundation of every therapeutic relationship.

I’ve cared for people through gender journeys, chronic conditions, trauma, menopause, and major life transitions. Some patients have moved across Idaho or across the country and still choose to remain under my care. That continuity isn’t about convenience. It’s about trust — the kind that is earned slowly, protected fiercely, and deeply felt by both patient and physician.

LGBTQ Health Awareness Week: Why This Week Matters

Each year, LGBTQ Health Awareness Week highlights the urgent need for affirming, evidence‑based, and trauma‑informed healthcare for LGBTQ+ individuals. In 2026, the theme emphasizes community resilience and the importance of safe, knowledgeable clinical spaces.

This week is more than a symbolic observance. It’s a reminder that LGBTQ+ patients continue to face real barriers: discrimination, delayed diagnoses, limited access to gender‑affirming care, and higher rates of mental health conditions. When healthcare is not affirming, people avoid it — and that avoidance has consequences. LGBTQ Health Awareness Week calls on clinicians to do better, stay informed, and create environments where patients feel safe enough to seek the care they deserve.

Why Trust Matters in LGBTQ+ Health

LGBTQ+ patients often navigate a healthcare system that has not always been safe for them. Many have experienced dismissal, judgment, or outright harm in medical settings. That history doesn’t disappear when someone walks into a new clinic.

This is why trust becomes therapeutic in itself.

• It allows patients to share their real concerns without fear.

• It opens the door to evidence‑based care that might otherwise be delayed or avoided.

• It creates space for conversations about identity, safety, trauma, and wellbeing.

• It strengthens adherence, follow‑up, and long‑term health outcomes.

There is decades of research showing that affirming, evidence‑based care improves mental health, reduces chronic disease risk, and increases engagement with preventive care. Ignoring that evidence is not neutral — it causes harm.

What We Offer at Libélula

At Libélula Primary Care, we provide comprehensive cuidado primario and hormone care for all genders, including but not limited to menopause and gender‑affirming therapy. Our approach is grounded in:

• Evidence‑based internal medicine

• Trauma‑informed care

• Cultural humility

• Continuity with the same physician

• Respect for lived experience and identity

As a trained internist, I go out of my way to stay current with the science — not just the clinical guidelines, but the evolving research on trauma, PTSD, and the specific healthcare barriers faced by women, BIPOC communities, and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Healing Healthcare‑Related Trauma

Many patients carry trauma from previous medical encounters: being ignored, misgendered, dismissed, or not believed. This is especially true for women, Black and Indigenous people, people of color, and LGBTQ+ communities.

Trauma‑informed care means:

• Listening without rushing

• Asking before touching

• Explaining before acting

• Honoring autonomy

• Creating a space where patients feel safe enough to tell the truth about their bodies and their lives

Healing begins when patients feel seen — not just treated.

The Heart of the Work

The longer I practice, the more convinced I am that medicine is not simply about diagnosing and prescribing. It’s about relationship. It’s about dignity. It’s about creating a space where people can show up as their full selves and receive care that honors their identity, their culture, and their story.

At Libélula, that’s the care we strive to provide every day — not just during LGBTQ Health Awareness Week, but all year long.

References:

1. Cahill SR, Makadon HJ. Sexual orientation and gender identity data collection in clinical settings and in electronic health records. LGBT Health. 2014;1(1):34‑41.

2. Grant JM, Mottet LA, Tanis J, et al. Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. National Center for Transgender Equality; 2011.

3. James SE, Herman JL, Rankin S, et al. The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. National Center for Transgender Equality; 2016.

4. National Coalition for LGBTQ Health. LGBTQ Health Awareness Week. Accessed 2026.

5. Reisner SL, Poteat T, Keatley J, et al. Global health burden and needs of transgender populations. Lancet. 2016;388(10042):412‑436.

6. Hughto JMW, Reisner SL, Pachankis JE. Transgender stigma and health: A critical review. Soc Sci Med. 2015;147:222‑231.