Digital Mental Health & LGBTQ+ Youth: Industry, Research, & Clinical Care

LGBTQ+ youth today face heightened mental health vulnerabilities amid an increasingly complex legislative landscape. This summit convenes key constituents to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities associated with using digital tools to increase safe, ethical, and inclusive access to evidence-based mental health care.

About

The event is co-hosted by Santa Clara’s School of Education and Counseling Psychology and the University of Virginia’s Thriving Youth in a Digital Environment (TYDE) initiative. It is made possible, in part, by a generous gift to SCU – The Sheri Sobrato Child & Adolescent Mental Health Fund.

It will be held on September 29, 2025 on the campus of Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California.

It is led by a steering committee:

• Jenna Alley (University of California, Los Angeles)
• Brian Feinstein (Rosalind Franklin University)
• Noah French (University of Virginia)
• Amy Green (Hope Lab)
• Greg Hajcak (Santa Clara University)
• John Pachankis (Yale)
• Claire Payton (University of Virginia)
• Bethany Teachman (University of Virginia)
• Chongzheng Wei (Santa Clara University)

Who Should Attend

Anyone is welcome! The summit will focus on the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ youth, with opportunities to engage in a diverse conversation with queer youth and advocates, researchers, clinicians, funders, and community and health industry leaders. This is an in-person event.

What to Expect

The summit will include a range of events. Panels will center queer youth perspectives, design and implementation of digital mental health interventions, product development, and research best practices. There will be opportunities to network with constituents from across the field of digital mental health, including researchers, industry experts, community leaders, and donors.

Registration

If you would like to attend this in-person event, please register below at the level that most accurately describes your role. If you are a person who needs financial support to attend the conference, please reach out to us at tyde@virginia.edu.