Psychologist coming to Havre to speak on LGBT issues

A professor and psychologist who specializes in LBGT mental and emotional issues will speak on the mental disparities of sexual minorities March 30 at Montana State University-Northern’s Hensler Auditorium.

Dr. Bryan Cochran’s presentation, set to begin at 3:30 p.m., will be titled “Understanding LGBT Mental Health Disparities.”

His talk, he said, is on what those disparities are.

Cochran said that being a sexual or ethnic minority places extra burdens on people, “in terms of disparities and victimization in particular” and he plans to elaborate on what that means.

His biography at the University of Montana website says, “My primary area of research interest is in the health correlates of being part of a stigmatized minority group. Specifically, I have studied substance use disorders and other mental health conditions among LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) youth and adult populations. My work is framed within a contextual model that takes into account the unique experiences of identifying as part of a marginalized segment of society”.

Cochran has been studying the topic for 20 years, he said, since his dissertation at University of Washington in Seattle. He said he was working on a research paper on homeless adolescents and he realized that a large portion of the homeless were sexual minorities.

Cochran said the visit to Havre will be his first and he looks forward to it. Cochran is also scheduled to appear on the radio the same day on the program Diverse Northern on KNMC, 90.1 FM, 11 a.m.