Louisville Pride Put Mental Health Front and Center. The Need Doesn’t End When the Tents Come Down.
Queens took the stage. Artists sold their colorful wares. Vendors of all kinds passed out pamphlets. Louisville Pride returned this year, with queers from all walks of life bustling through a blocked-off section of Bardstown Road on Saturday, September 12.
Louisville Pride Foundation, which also runs the Louisville Pride Center in Old Louisville, organized the event.
National acts performed near tables of local organizations ranging from healthcare organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, to political organizations.
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Among those who participated were organizations helping LGBTQ+ people with their mental health or pointing them in the direction of mental health services.
According to the 2025 Queer Kentucky Community Health Survey, roughly 7 in 10 LGBTQ+ Kentuckians have had negative experiences with their mental health due to the current political environment, such as debates around LGBTQ+ rights.
Of queer Louisvillians who responded to the survey, about 32% attributed thoughts of suicide to policy debates around LGBTQ+ people. In fact, the number is 3.9% above the state average. Because of these debates, 8.1% of respondents said they left Kentucky because of it. The survey also found that trans women reported higher rates of suicidal ideation.
Louisville has more queer services than most of Kentucky, but Queer Kentucky’s data suggests they may not be enough because there are also high levels of health risks in the community.
Related: Louisville Advocate Dr. Bobbie Glass Joins The Trevor Project’s Sharing Space Mental Health Series
Mandala House Provides Mental Healthcare to Queer Louisville
One featured booth at Louisville Pride was Mandala House, which provides mental healthcare to the community of Louisville. Mandala House has several therapy groups that address the psychological health of minority groups and their various intersectional needs.
“It’s a special place in our hearts, the work we get to do with queer people,” said Mandala House therapist Rachel Archer.
Archer said Mandala House currently runs a variety of therapy groups, such as an adult gender-journey group for individuals 18+ who are questioning their gender or who identify as trans or gender non-conforming. The space provides communal support for one another.
Archer noted that she couldn’t say that the lack of queer-specific spaces as a barrier to queer healthcare’s accessibility was unique to Louisville alone.
Mandala House also provides support letters for trans individuals seeking gender-affirming care, which is often required by providers and insurance companies. For many queer Kentuckians, finding a provider for their healthcare can be a challenge. According to the 2025 Queer Kentucky Community Health Survey, while Louisville has better healthcare access than most of the state for LGBTQ+ Kentuckians, provider refusal still happens.
Related: Barriers, burnout, and resistance: Trans Kentuckians and the fight for healthcare
Related: Cain Culto Was Sent to Conversion Therapy. He Came Out a Pop Star.
Kentucky Psychological Foundation: Evidence-Based Connections
Among the vendors, the Kentucky Psychological Foundation was doing outreach. The organization focuses on bringing free mental health resources across Kentucky. It also supports researchers and graduate students with funds to conduct research with marginalized communities.
“We know there is a lot of specifically psychological information that is based in science and research…out there, but it’s not always easily accessible in the community,” board member Dr. Courtney Keim told Queer Kentucky.
“What we really focus on is educating the public about the science in ways that can better the lives of Kentuckians,” Keim said.
The Kentucky Psychological Foundation doesn’t provide mental healthcare, but its sister organization, the Kentucky Psychological Association, is the state professional association for psychologists, whose members provide care.
The Kentucky Psychological Foundation’s site provides a link to a database of members of the Kentucky Psychological Association that are using evidence-based research and follow the American Psychological Association’s guidelines and ethics. This can help address the needs of marginalized communities to find competent care.
“Our foundation is going to provide things based in evidence and research. We are very much against therapies that are not evidence-based. So for example, conversion therapy is not evidence-based. We don’t support that. We only provide evidence-based and culturally competent therapists that understand the marginalized communities they are serving,” said Keim.
So-called “conversion therapy” is a discredited practice and is referred to by the American Psychological Association as attempting “to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or related behaviors” with practices that “stem from the scientifically discredited belief that being LGBTQ+ is a mental illness that should be cured.” The organization says it causes a significant risk of self-harm, depression, and substance use.
The topic of ‘conversion therapy’ has been a battleground issue statewide between Democratic Governor Andy Beshear and the Republican dominated state legislature when Beshear tried to restrict the harmful practice, but Republicans overturned his attempt.
“A lot of times it is because people who are getting that ‘therapy’ don’t feel that person providing that therapy truly understands them,” said Keim. “One of the things that has been important in psychology is those cultural competencies and making sure those folks who are marginalized find someone who truly sees them.”
At the end of the day, the booths came down. The tents emptied. As the night wound down, a queen took the main stage to perform Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” and Louisville Pride ended the way it began, with queens and with community.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, The Trevor Project’s counselors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, by texting START to 678-678, or by chat at thetrevorproject.org/get-help.
Want Queer Kentucky’s latest in your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter here.
Related
- Louisville Pride Festival Is Back with “Empowered, Emboldened: Pride In The Face of Opposition” Theme
- Louisville Advocate Dr. Bobbie Glass Joins The Trevor Project’s Sharing Space Mental Health Series
- Barriers, burnout, and resistance: Trans Kentuckians and the fight for healthcare
- Cain Culto Was Sent to Conversion Therapy. He Came Out a Pop Star.
