"Queer Safety: Building Truly Affirming Systems for LGBTQ+ and Neurodivergent Lives"

A Candid Conversation on Safety, Ethics, and Affirming Care for LGBTQ+ and Neurodivergent Communities

TAMPA, FL AND ST. PETERSBURG, FL / ACCESS Newswire / December 3, 2025 / The Neurodivergent Empowerment Institute (NEI) will feature founder Angela Fisher, PhD, in a cornerstone session at its upcoming "Celebrate & Connect" Grand Opening Wellness Event on Sunday, December 14, 2025, at 2200 2nd Ave S, Suite 134, St. Petersburg, FL.

Dr. Fisher will participate in and help lead a dedicated panel on queer safety in clinical, educational, and wellness settings, titled: "Queer Safety: Building Truly Affirming Systems for LGBTQ+ and Neurodivergent Lives"

The panel will bring together lived-experience leaders and clinicians, including Anne and Kristine, to address the realities and risks LGBTQ+ individuals face when seeking care-especially those who are also autistic, ADHD, trauma-impacted, or otherwise neurodivergent.

Panel topics will include:

• The difference between "inclusive" branding and actual safety

• How subtle bias, pathologizing language, and microaggressions erode trust

• The impact of religious trauma, medical trauma, and family rejection on queer and trans clients

• How systems often force masking, code-switching, or erasure for survival

• The specific vulnerabilities of queer and trans neurodivergent people in mental health and medical care

• Ethical non-negotiables: no conversion, no coercion, no "fixing identity"

• Concrete practices for therapists, teachers, employers, and healthcare teams to create safer environments

• How accommodations, language, intake forms, policies, and provider training must change to protect LGBTQ+ clients

"Queer and trans clients do not need tolerance. They need safety, honesty, and a complete refusal to collude with systems that shame or erase them," says Fisher. "This panel is about naming what is actually happening in the field and providing a roadmap for doing better."

The discussion will highlight NEI's internal standards for queer safety, including:

• Zero-tolerance for conversion or normalization-based practices

• Lived-experience-informed policies and supervision

• Trauma-informed approaches to gender, sexuality, and relationship structure

• Integration of accommodations, somatic support, and metabolic/medical considerations for queer and trans clients

• Staff training that addresses bias, language, and power dynamics head-on

Dr. Fisher, a psychologist and founder of NEI and Bionic Bloom, is known for her development of Empowerment-Based Integrated Treatment (EBiT), a model built around the principles of validate, accept, and nurture. Her work centers neurodivergent, queer, and trauma-impacted individuals and challenges coercive, compliance-based frameworks that have historically dominated mental health and autism services.

The queer safety panel is part of a full-day schedule that also includes presentations on autism, accommodations, menopause and the endocannabinoid system, GLP-1s and metabolic health, functional genetics, PTSD in first responders, autoimmune conditions, trauma, veterans' care, peptides, and energy medicine. The event will also feature live music, wellness demonstrations, a sensory-conscious art gallery, silent auction, raffle, and designated low-stimulation and chill-out rooms for nervous system regulation.

Tickets and full event details are available at: Website: www.empowerautism.me
Event link: https://events.humanitix.com/celebrate-and-connect-a-grand-opening-wellness-event

For media inquiries, interview requests with Dr. Fisher or panelists, or to request press access to the event, please contact:
Ella Waters
Email: ella@bionicbloom.org
Phone: 727-371-8355

Contact:
Neurodivergent Empowerment Institute
Attn: Ella Waters
Phone: 727-371-8355
Email: ella@bionicbloom.org
Website: www.empowerautism.me

SOURCE: Bionic Bloom