Welcome to CO-SAIGE

Denver Pride: CO-SAIGE was excited to participate in Denver Pride in 2023.

We will be participating in 2024 Denver Pride on June 22 & June 23.

Colorado Counseling Association Annual Conference: CO-SAIGE regularly hosts both a booth and an educational session at the Colorado Counseling Association’s Annual Conference. Visit the Conference website for updates on this year’s conference!
 

SAIGE 2024 Annual Conference: Our national organization, the Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, & Gender Expansive Identities, is hosting their 2024 annual conference in Golden, Colorado on October 4^th and 5^th! We will be hosting a booth at the conference and are excited for this opportunity to connect with all of you and with other state branches in attendance! Learn more on the SAIGE Conference website, here.

Follow us on Instagram to stay up-to-date on events! @ColoradoSAIGE

CCACE: Visit the Colorado Counseling Association’s Continuing Education website at www.coloradocounselingassociation.org/ to access trainings sponsored by CO-SAIGE, as well as general continuing education opportunities provided by the CCA.

Webinars: SAIGE National hosts monthly webinars related to supporting LGBTGEQIAP+ populations. View the upcoming offerings at https://saigecounseling.org/webinar/. Many of the webinars offered by SAIGE provide the opportunity to earn CEUs through NBCC!

Additional Resources

• Colorado Resources
  • One Colorado
  • The Center on Colfax
    • Legal Resources
  • National Resources
    • GLSEN
      • GLSEN State Policy Scorecards: https://maps.glsen.org/state-policy-scorecards/
      • GLSEN 2019 State Snapshot, School Climate for LGBTQ Students in Colorado: https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/Colorado-Snapshot-2019.pdf
      • GLSEN State-by-State Research: https://www.glsen.org/research/2021-state-snapshots-national-school-climate-survey
    • American Civil Liberties Union
      • Track Anti-LGBTQ Bills in Colorado here (ACLU, 2024).
    • Human Rights Campaign
    • Equality Federation
    • PFLAG
    • Freedom for All Americans
    • The Trevor Project

Colorado SAIGE is working to establish a directory of helping professionals who have specialties related to the LGBTGEQIAP+ community. Once available, the application process will be posted on this site!

As a professional organization representing counselors in Colorado, we within CO-SAIGE wish to address the recent Supreme Court case involving a provider from our state and profession. As the governing council, we affirm that all providers within CO-SAIGE are expected to uphold the ethical standards outlined in the American Counseling Association (ACA) 2014 Code of Ethics.

We emphasize the core ethical principles of nonmaleficence (to do no harm) and beneficence (to promote the well-being of clients) in all professional interactions. Peer-reviewed research consistently demonstrates that conversion therapy, also referred to as Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts (SOGICE), is both harmful and ineffective for members of the LGBTGEQIAP+ community (Przeworski et al., 2021). The widespread discreditation of these practices is directly tied to our ethical and clinical responsibilities, as well as the overarching humanistic values of the counseling profession (Forsythe et al., 2022).

To be clear: Engaging in conversion therapy stands in direct violation of the ACA's core ethical values and undermines the therapeutic trust between counselors and the LGBTGEQIAP+ community.

While we respect the right of the Colorado provider involved in this case to hold personal beliefs, entering the counseling profession carries a commitment to uphold the profession's ethical code and to engage in research-informed best practices. As a governing body, CO-SAIGE holds that ethical practice applies to all individuals and groups, regardless of whether their identities or values align with our own personal beliefs.

As a professional advocacy voice, CO-SAIGE cannot remain silent and let those being harmed by this Supreme Court discussion stand without a supportive voice. We as leadership, share in the pain that these actions and narratives inflict on our community. It is important to remember that we as members of the LGBTGEQIAP+ community are not just made up of clients, but also include the diligent work of queer counselors holding the pain of what is happening with their clients as well as their own across state of Colorado. We encourage all members to remain engaged in advocacy when possible, and to know they are supported during this time. The governing council also invites members to join our monthly Out and United meeting to engage in discussion, find connection, and build collective support in response to this recent development. Please contact us at co-saige@coloradocounselingassociation.org for more information on our monthly meetings.

We see you. We stand with you. We aren't going anywhere.

References

American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics. https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-ethics.pdf

Forsythe A, Pick C, Tremblay G, Malaviya S, Green A, Sandman K. Humanistic and Economic Burden of Conversion Therapy Among LGBTQ Youths in the United States. JAMA Pediatr. 2022;176(5):493–501. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.0042

Przeworski, A., Peterson, E., & Piedra, A. (2021). A systematic review of the efficacy, harmful effects, and ethical issues related to sexual orientation change efforts. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 28(1), 81–100. https://doiorg.unco.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/cpsp.12377