Dr. Jay Bettergarcia (they/them/their) is an assistant professor in the Psychology and Child
Development Department at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and a licensed psychologist whose work
supports the mental health and wellness of transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse individuals
and communities. As a nonbinary person and Cal Poly alum, Dr. Bettergarcia recognized, personally
and professionally, the need for more affirming mental health care services for the lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) community in San Luis Obispo County. Now, as a Cal Poly
professor and local therapist, Bettergarcia is working to increase access to affordable, culturally
competent and affirming care for these communities.
As part of this work, Bettergarcia runs the Queer Community Action, Research, Education and
Support (QCARES) program that involves students, community members and leaders in developing,
conducting and disseminating research for policy change and social justice action. QCARES started
on campus in 2017 by conducting an LGBTQ+ mental health needs assessment to explore barriers
to accessing care, their experiences with providers, and the local services needed to support mental
health and wellness. The San Luis Obispo County Behavioral Health Department funded this project;
more than 500 LGBTQ+ youth, adults and elders shared their experiences through an extensive online
survey and several focus groups. The results pointed to the need for more well-trained and affirming
providers, suicidal prevention efforts targeted to LGBTQ+ youth, affirming services for transgender
and gender-diverse people and LGBTQ+ community spaces that help increase their feelings of safety
and connectedness, which can help to buffer the negative effects of stigma and discrimination on
mental health. The results and recommendations are being used to develop affirming programs and
initiatives that support LGBTQ+ mental health across San Luis Obispo County.
Bettergarcia then set out to create more local training opportunities to help increase providers’
cultural competence and to collect data about the effectiveness of such trainings. With a campus
Research, Scholarly and Creative Activities grant, they conducted a series of one-day trainings for
medical and mental health providers on transgender affirming care. This study assesses the changes
in providers’ knowledge, attitudes and interpersonal comfort from pretest to posttest. With this
coastal county being semirural, accessibility to affirming care providers can mean the difference
between people getting the care they need or none at all.
Bettergarcia also developed the Affirming Cultural Competence Education and Provider Training
(SLO ACCEPTance) project, a four-year program funded by the Mental Health Services Act, through
SLO County Behavioral Health. This innovative program tests a nine-month training model to
increase the cultural competence (including knowledge, awareness and skills) of therapists, and the
feasibility of specific training activities. Through this research, Bettergarcia and their collaborators
hope to better understand and study various methods of conducting diversity-related training.
Additionally, approximately 60 local therapists will be trained further to provide affirming mental
health care and support for LGBTQ+ people, thereby expanding access to quality care.
Bettergarcia hopes these various projects will increase access to LGBTQ+ affirming care and to
reduce barriers to accessing services. Having more well-trained therapists available is one step
in that direction. Research shows that prejudice, discrimination and stigma can have extensive
deleterious effects on the mental health of queer and transgender people. Bettergarcia hopes that
through their work, LGBTQ+ people will not have to face bias and discrimination from their doctors,
nurses, and therapists as well.