The Trevor Project released its first-ever longitudinal study on LGBTQ+ youth mental health this week, tracking 1,689 youth (ages 13 to 24) from 2023 to 2025. The first-year results show significant increases in anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation for LGBTQ youth, with especially severe impacts for transgender, nonbinary, and youth of color1.
Some Good Things
Some positive trends emerged from the study. Notably, the proportion of LGBTQ+ youth seeking help from a mental health professional during crises doubled (from 32 percent to 64 percent), and those turning to friends for support also increased from 45 percent to 73 percent, perhaps showing that youth are finding more comfort and trust in reaching out for support when they need it most.
Additionally, youth reporting school support rose, albeit minimally, from 53 percent to 58 percent. This increase in help-seeking behavior suggests a growing awareness and acceptance of the need for mental health support within LGBTQ+ communities. It also highlights the importance of affirming environments that allow youth to seek assistance from safe adults.
Mental Health Findings
Despite this increase in help-seeking, the findings also reveal troubling trends in the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth. Results show that queer youth reporting suicidal ideation grew from 41 percent to 47 percent. Transgender and nonbinary youth were almost twice as likely to report suicidal thoughts compared to their cisgender peers1.
A particularly alarming finding is the rising exposure of queer youth to conversion therapy—a harmful and discredited practice aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. This practice has been widely condemned as unethical by all major mental health organizations, including the American Psychological Association (APA)2 and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)3. Despite its being both unethical and demonstrably ineffective4,5 queer youth are being subjected to conversion therapy at increasing rates: Reports of threats of conversion therapy doubled in a single year (from 11 percent to 22 percent), while actual exposure rose from 9 percent to 15 percent.
This troubling trend highlights that, despite overwhelming evidence against its use, conversion therapy remains a persistent and dangerous threat to LGBTQ+ youth. The continued prevalence of these harmful practices not only risks significant psychological harm to youth who are exposed, but its availability also perpetuates harmful stereotypes that gender and sexual diversity are conditions in need of correction.
Implications for Practitioners, Educators, and Health Care Workers
While it is too soon to tell whether more recent legislative shifts, such as the elimination of dedicated LGBTQ+ support services on the 988 crisis line, have influenced these trajectories, they certainly signal a troubling step backward in the progress for LGBTQ+ communities. For clinicians who work with teens, this speaks to the urgent need for available and affirming mental health care.
Even though this report highlights a worsening mental health crisis for LGBTQ+ youth, it also reminds us of the importance of protective factors such as affirming and supportive relationships and access to safe, affirming mental health resources. Mental health professionals play a key role by creating safe, welcoming spaces and by standing firmly against harmful practices such as conversion therapy.
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