Mental Health Implications of Gender Identity and Expression in Youth

Session 8 of the Northeast PA AHEC Navigating Youth Behavior Virtual Lunch & Learn Series

Date: August 20, 2025

Speaker: Alexis Grier is a licensed professional counselor from Penn State Health’s TiPS therapy services. Alexis has been a therapist for the past 4 years after getting her Master of Science in mental health counseling from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic medicine. She specializes in helping youth and young adults to work through mental health struggles using evidence-based therapies and person-centered approaches. She has a special place in her heart for a few different populations, including the LGBTQ+ community, as she is part of the community herself, and has worked in trauma therapy with kids who experience discrimination due to gender identity and expression. Alexis has seen first-hand the clinical implications of mental health on the LGBTQ+ community, and her goal is to continue to learn and spread education on these effects and how to help this community to the best of our abilities.

Speaker: Jennifer Rago is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Pennsylvania. Jennifer works within the Penn State Health Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health as a TiPS therapist for children and adolescents. Additionally, Jennifer is a liaison for the child psychiatric consultation team within the Penn State Health Children’s Hospital. Jennifer received her undergraduate degree from West Chester University where she worked with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and co-ran an after school crisis program for underprivileged youth living in West Philadelphia. Jennifer then went on to get her Master’s degree from Penn State Harrisburg where she completed a thesis highlighting the significance of psychological abuse and its potential relationship to the learned helplessness phenomenon. During this time, she worked with adolescents in a drug and alcohol treatment program where she worked closely with Dauphin County Junior Probation. After graduate school, Jennifer spent time as a school-based therapist with a focus on students in grades 6 through 12. While eclectic in her therapy practice, Jennifer tends to gravitate towards the use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and is currently working to get certified in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Jennifer’s interest and passion for mental health originates from her childhood, where her own experiences shaped her perspective and fueled her desire to understand and help others.