Why We Don’t Reach Out: Rethinking Mental Health Engagement for LGBTQIA+ Neurodivergent Youth
Tracks
Prince - In-Person Only
| Monday, September 28, 2026 |
| 1:30 PM - 1:50 PM |
| Prince Room |
Overview
Max Dumbrell
Key Learnings
1. Why trust often needs to be established before LGBTQIA+ neurodivergent youth feel able to seek professional support.
2. How LGBTQIA+ peer spaces can create the safety and belonging that allow trust and authenticity to develop.
3. Practical considerations for organisations seeking to create LGBTQIA+ peer spaces that promote trust and engagement.
Speaker
Mx Max Dumbrell
Lived Experience Advisor And Safe Space Facilitator
Various Organisations on Kombumerri land (Gold Coast)
Why We Don’t Reach Out: Rethinking Mental Health Engagement for LGBTQIA+ Neurodivergent Youth.
Presentation Overview
Many LGBTQIA+ neurodivergent young people feel wary about reaching out to mental health professionals, even when we want or need support. Drawing on lived experience alongside facilitating LGBTQIA+ peer spaces, this presentation reflects on conversations with other young people about what helps build the trust needed to seek support.
Across these conversations, a common theme emerges: the importance of feeling safe and understood. Many young people describe hesitating to reach out to professionals when they don’t yet know whether a service provider will understand or affirm their identities, communication styles, or lived experiences. Without that trust, seeking support can feel daunting and emotionally risky.
In contrast, LGBTQIA+ peer spaces often provide environments where young people can connect with others who share similar experiences, exist without masking key parts of themselves, and begin to build a sense of safety around others. When facilitated by lived-experience support professionals, these spaces can also foster trust between young people and service providers.
This presentation explores how LGBTQIA+ peer spaces can support wellbeing and help create the relational foundations that make professional support feel possible. Drawing on experiences facilitating LGBTQIA+ peer spaces, it will also reflect on practical considerations for organisations seeking to develop environments where LGBTQIA+ neurodivergent young people feel genuinely safe, understood, and supported.
By centring lived experience, this session invites attendees to rethink what engagement can look like and how LGBTQIA+ peer spaces can complement formal mental health support by helping build the trust needed for support to feel possible.
Across these conversations, a common theme emerges: the importance of feeling safe and understood. Many young people describe hesitating to reach out to professionals when they don’t yet know whether a service provider will understand or affirm their identities, communication styles, or lived experiences. Without that trust, seeking support can feel daunting and emotionally risky.
In contrast, LGBTQIA+ peer spaces often provide environments where young people can connect with others who share similar experiences, exist without masking key parts of themselves, and begin to build a sense of safety around others. When facilitated by lived-experience support professionals, these spaces can also foster trust between young people and service providers.
This presentation explores how LGBTQIA+ peer spaces can support wellbeing and help create the relational foundations that make professional support feel possible. Drawing on experiences facilitating LGBTQIA+ peer spaces, it will also reflect on practical considerations for organisations seeking to develop environments where LGBTQIA+ neurodivergent young people feel genuinely safe, understood, and supported.
By centring lived experience, this session invites attendees to rethink what engagement can look like and how LGBTQIA+ peer spaces can complement formal mental health support by helping build the trust needed for support to feel possible.
Biography
Max Dumbrell is a neurodivergent and gender-diverse LGBTQIA+ community advocate with lived experience of navigating mental health systems. Max facilitates LGBTQIA+ youth spaces and supports young people in building connection, belonging, and wellbeing within community environments. Through this work, Max has developed a strong interest in how safe and affirming spaces influence trust, help-seeking, and engagement with support services. Max also contributes to lived-experience advisory groups within health services, helping inform approaches to supporting LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent communities. In 2024, Max was awarded the Gold Coast Student Excellence Award for Championing Diversity in recognition of their advocacy and community leadership.
