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Words with Friends episodes are bonus episodes where different members of Mama Dragons provide definitions for LGBTQ related topics. This episode includes the following definitions:

Labels, shared by Clare McFadyen from England

Queer, shared by Barbara Proudfoot from South Africa

 Gay, shared by Roxana Rich from California, USA

Transgender, shared by Pannay from Wisconsin, USA

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In this week’s episode of In the Den, Jen visits with special guests Samantha Richardson and Beckett Jones about what it means to be transgender. From fundamental definitions to misconceptions/misinformation surrounding trans issues to what dating might look like as a trans person, this episode is valuable listening for anyone wanting to better understand the trans experience. 

Special Guest: Samantha Richardson

Samantha Richardson is tall, but not as tall as a tree. She likes dinosaurs, monsters, board games, and giant robots. She has won a number of awards for her cartoons and writing, and that number is zero. Her illustrations appear in Shannon Hale’s book Kind of a Big Deal. You can find much of her artwork on Facebook at Samantha Richardson Creator.

Special Guest: Beckett Jones

Beckett Jones is a transgender artist and poet. He is the oldest of three siblings and can often be found outdoors. Beckett’s a conservation worker who has spent his last few summers working in a variety of wilderness areas, including Yellowstone National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, and Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (located about 1100 miles South of the Hawaiian Islands). Beckett's currently studying Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii.

Links from the show: 

Samantha’s Art: https://www.facebook.com/people/Samantha-Richardson-Creator/100067032965737/

Beckett’s art: https://www.instagram.com/beckettatticus/ 

More of Beckett’s art: https://www.sfwp.com/quarterly/heartsong?fbclid=IwAR3j-2aqzKn-OtqDgGeBdU-1NVMET8GiSH2jorn9J8Kjhq2J582WNWlUQX0 

Join MamaDragons today at www.mamadragons.org 

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Nothing has the potential to create beautiful memories or deeply hurt feelings quite like family gatherings. Family is central for many of us, but having and supporting an LGBTQ child may open your family up to situations of conflict and discomfort when it comes to family interactions. In this episode of In the Den, Jen talks with therapist Laura Skaggs about possible scenarios that may be encountered, and healthy strategies to navigate interactions and events with family that will help ensure inclusion and support for your LGBTQ child. 

Special Guest: Laura Skaggs

Laura Skaggs is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in treating spiritual trauma at the intersection of LGBTQ+ experiences and religion. Laura earned her master’s degree in marriage and family therapy at San Diego State University with an emphasis in LGBTQ+ mental health within conservative religious social contexts. She went on to serve for two years on the board of directors of Affirmation: LGBT+ Mormons, Families, and Friends with a focus on responding to spiritual trauma and suicide prevention. Laura is also the co-creator of CWEERS Empowerment groups: a practice designed to help LGBTQ+ individuals and their supporters confront social discrimination and internalized stigma. Laura is the mother of two daughters and presently sees clients full time in Provo, UT, as part of Flourish Therapy.

Links from the show: 

Flourish Therapy:  https://flourishtherapy.org/ 

Family Acceptance Project: https://lgbtqfamilyacceptance.org/ 

In the Den episode around the Family Acceptance Project: https://inthedenwithmamadragons.buzzsprout.com/2082774/11981957-the-family-acceptance-project-the-impact-of-family-on-lgbtq-individuals 

Join MamaDragons today at www.mamadragons.org 

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Over the years we’ve heard LGBTQ people say that they didn’t know what life might look like for them as an adult. Many haven’t had LGBTQ role models that provide examples of a potential future, and a lot of fear that parents of LGBTQ children experience comes from the unknown as well. We thought it might be helpful for parents to get to know some of the amazing members of the LGBTQ community, just a few at a time, so that they can provide a realistic view of what life could look like for our children. Today, Jen joins guests Aaron McManus, Shannon Hansen, and Jordan Sgro in this initial episode of World of Possibility. 

Special Guest: Shannon Hansen

Shannon Hansen is an HR Specialist and experienced electrical engineer with a passion for amplifying and supporting voices of the underrepresented.  She has filled multiple professional and volunteer roles aimed at increasing awareness for LGBTQ+ issues in her home state of Idaho. Shannon holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Idaho. Shannon is passionate about ensuring everyone’s voice is heard, regardless of their background. Shannon chairs her local PFLAG chapter, offering support to families of local queer-identified individuals.  As a trans woman, Shannon is familiar with navigating the unique complications of healthcare access within underrepresented communities and has served as an LGBTQ Patient Care Advocate. In her free time, Shannon is an outdoor and sports enthusiast. She enjoys downhill mountain biking, snowboarding, competitive water skiing, and trail running. 

Special Guest: Aaron McManus 

Aaron grew up in a small seaside town in Northwest England. After coming out as gay in his early twenties he navigated dating men and holding on to his religious beliefs. Searching for community he attended the first Affirmation conference to be held in the UK, where he met his husband Jed, who is from Utah. This started their transatlantic adventure together, as they dated long distance for a few years. Until they got married in the Lake District, England, surrounded by their close family. They both continue to travel and enjoy life’s adventures together—spending time with their families in both England and Utah.

Special Guest: Jordan Sgro

Jordan is the Executive Director of Encircle, an organization that offers LGBTQ+ mental health services and other programs. She is dedicated to creating world class programs for LGBTQ+ youth and families. She also works to provide a number of resources for the LGBTQ community, parents, and church leaders. Jordan loves spending time with her wife and baby, spoiling their puppy, and baking red velvet cupcakes.

Links From the Show:

• Join Mama Dragons at www.mamadragons.org 
• Aaron’s and Jed’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingaland/ 
• Encircle: https://encircletogether.org/ 

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In this episode of In the Den, Jen joins past guests Lori Davis, Shauna Jones, and Neca Allgood to answer a handful of frequently asked questions regarding parenting an LGBTQ child. 

• How can I be sure my child's identity isn't just a phase, and could I cause harm by supporting them if it is?
• How can I help my child come out to extend family when they're ready?
• How do I prepare my child for the difficult questions that people will ask them?
• Why do I feel so sad?
• Why can't they choose an easier path?
• How do I know if I’m providing enough appropriate support for my child while I’m still trying to learn and process through my own generational teachings

Special Guests: Lori Davis

Lori is a mother to four boys. Parenting her third son Zach, who had a gender nonconforming childhood and now identifies as gay, sent her on a journey looking for support and resources. She found Mama Dragons when Zach was a teen.  The support and education there helped her to affirm and celebrate her son. Lori has previously served on the board of Mama Dragons and is currently serving on the PFLAG SLC board.

Special guest: Shauna Jones

Shauna has been an active member of Mama Dragons since 2015. She hates winter, yet still finds herself living in the state of Idaho. Shauna has a husband, three young adult children (one of whom is transgender), a one eyed black lab, and an exuberant golden retriever puppy. Shauna serves on the board of Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, Families, and Friends, providing support for parents of queer children and running the youth conference portion of the annual Affirmation International Conference. Shauna loves running and all things rainbow.

Special Guest: Neca Allgood 

Neca Allgood is the mother of a transgender son. She is a former President of Mama Dragons, a current Mama Dragons board member, and a former board member of Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, families, and friends. Neca and her husband own a small engineering consulting company. She has a PhD in Molecular Biology. 

Links from the show: 

Family Acceptance Project: https://familyproject.sfsu.edu/

Join Mama Dragons today at www.mamadragons.org  

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you.

Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org. 

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Words with Friends episodes are bonus episodes where different members of Mama Dragons provide definitions for LGBTQ related topics. This episode includes the following definitions:

Orientation shared by Zane Bekayci Bates, a non-binary trans-masculine parent from Colorado 

Klein Sexual Orientation Grid shared by Laura from California

Homosexual/Heterosexual shared by Becky from Utah

Internalized Homophobia  shared by Melissa Hardin from Georgia

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you.

Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org. 

If you have a short story, feedback, or any comments we would love to hear from you at 562-344-5010.

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Join Jen and guest Dr. Lisa Tensmeyer Hansen as they explore the sometimes difficult world of setting and keeping boundaries to protect and support your LGBTQ child. From school to church to relatives to friends, there will always be opportunities to practice boundary setting and keeping. Practicing boundaries can be hard, but ultimately allow truer relationships with those we love and allow our LGBTQ child to feel safe and seen and respected. 

Special Guest: Lisa Tensmeyer Hansen

Lisa Tensmeyer Hansen is the clinical director and founder of Flourish Therapy, Inc., (Flourish), a behavioral health clinic located in Provo, Utah, which she founded in February 2017 to meet the needs of LGBTQ+ and SSA individuals and their families. Lisa received a B.S. from Brigham Young University in 1990 as university valedictorian (Summa Cum Laude with Honors thesis), an M.S. in 2012 and Ph.D. in 2017, both at BYU, focusing on improving the mental health of LGBTQ+ people in conservative family and community. As part of her graduate programs at BYU, she taught a course on the family proclamation and a course in graduate research and writing. Her dissertation was a quantitative analysis of adolescent emotional self-regulation in 600 families from Seattle and Provo. Her master’s thesis on a preliminary aspect of the dissertation won the national 2013 AAMFT Masters Thesis of the Year Award.

Since 2010 Lisa Hansen has seen clients at the BYU Comprehensive Clinic, the Provo Center for Couples and Families (PCCF), and at Flourish. In 2016, she was invited to be a continuing participant in the Reconciliation and Growth Project, a dialogue group of conservative and liberal therapists and academics forging ideas to bridge divides and educate in various forums in the LGBTQ+/SSA therapeutic community. In 2018, Dr. Hansen won the Outstanding Counseling Supervisor of the Year award from the University of Utah and in 2019, she was awarded Ally of the Year award from the LGBTQ+ organization, Affirmation International.

Lisa Hansen’s interest in the well-being of LGBTQ+ and SSA people is informed by her LDS faith. She was recently released as a member of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, and she and her husband are the composers of the Primary Children’s song, Nephi’s Courage.

Dr. Hansen has given more than 100 community presentations, articles, and podcasts for universities, clinical mental health organizations, community mental health agencies, school districts and conferences. She lives with her husband in Payson, Utah, where together they made a home for 7 children (and a few extras) and now have 18 grandchildren.

Links From the Show:

• Join Mama Dragons at www.mamadragons.org 
• Flourish Therapy: https://flourishtherapy.org/

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you.

Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org. 

If you have a short story, feedback, or any comments we would love to hear from you at 562-344-5010.

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In this episode of In the Den, Mama Dragons Executive Director Celeste Carolin joins Jen to talk about finding and utilizing the available tools that can help make processing your child’s coming out journey a little easier. From appropriate ways of processing your own grief to finding answers to your questions without placing undue burden on your child, Jen and Celeste explore ways to help parents address their own emotional needs in healthy ways, so that they, in turn, are able to fully support their LGBTQ children in meaningful ways. 

Special Guest: Celeste Carolin

Celeste Carolin studied business at Harvard Extension School and is currently earning a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from NCU. As a queer (lesbian) cisgender woman, she has worked with LGBTQ youth and non-profits for the past 10 years. Celeste has served in Mama Dragons Leadership since 2016 and currently serves as the Mama Dragons Executive Director. She lives just outside Seattle with her lovely partner Jamie, extended family, grand kiddos, and their pup Jackson Blue. Both Celeste and her partner come from non accepting religious roots, which fuels Celeste's passion for understanding and serving the intersectionality of faith and parenting LGBTQ children. 

Links from the show: 

Ring Theory: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-xpm-2013-apr-07-la-oe-0407-silk-ring-theory-20130407-story.html 

Join Mama Dragons today at www.mamadragons.org  

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you.

Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org.

If you have a short story, feedback, or any comments we would love to hear from you at 562-344-5010.

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EPISODE 4: Bryce Cook–Building Communities of Support

In this episode of In the Den, Jen talks with Bryce Cook about the need that we all have for community. Helping your LGBTQ child find or create community can be key to their emotional and social happiness. Bryce describes seeing a need for a space of community for his sons, and how he went about creating that space for his sons and for others who need it. Jen and Bryce discuss the importance of creating community, and the benefits that come when community is found.

Special Guest: Bryce Cook

Bryce Cook is a founding member of ALL (Arizona LDS LGBT) Friends & Family and a co-director of the annual “ALL Are Alike Unto God” Conference held every April in Mesa, Arizona. He is married to Sara Spencer Cook and together they have six children, two of whom are gay. Bryce graduated from BYU with a degree in finance and from ASU with an MBA. He is an economic consultant at a firm he recently founded.

Links from the show: 

ALL Arizona LGBTQ support group: https://www.allarizona.org/

Rainbow Mutual Utah, LGBTQ youth support activities: https://www.facebook.com/RainbowMutual/

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you.

Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org. 

If you have a short story, feedback, or any comments we would love to hear from you at 562-344-5010.

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CONTENT WARNING: Mention of Suicidality

Jen chats with guests Shauna Jones and Lori Davis about some of the mistakes parents may make when their child comes out. They share some of their own personal missteps, and talk about what to do when you don’t get it right. From learning new vocabulary to adjusting pronouns, there are a lot of ways to fall short of perfection, and Jen, Shauna, and Lori have an honest conversation about ways to move forward after mistakes are unavoidably made. 

Special Guest: Shauna Jones 

Shauna has been an active member of Mama Dragons since 2015. She hates winter, yet still finds herself living in the state of Idaho. Shauna has a husband, three young adult children (one of whom is transgender), a one eyed black lab, and an exuberant golden retriever puppy. Shauna serves on the board of Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, Families, and Friends, providing support for parents of queer children and running the youth conference portion of the annual Affirmation International Conference. Shauna loves running and all things rainbow.

Special Guest: Lori Davis 

Lori is a mother to four boys. Parenting her third son Zach, who had a gender nonconforming childhood and now identifies as gay, sent her on a journey looking for support and resources. She found Mama Dragons when Zach was a teen.  The support and education there helped her to affirm and celebrate her son. Lori has previously served on the board of Mama Dragons and is currently serving on the PFLAG SLC board.

Links From the Show:

• Join Mama Dragons at www.mamadragons.org 
• Family Acceptance Project: https://familyproject.sfsu.edu/

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you.

Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org. 

If you have a short story, feedback, or any comments we would love to hear from you at 562-344-5010.

Support the show

Connect with Mama Dragons:
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Facebook

Donate to this podcast