Benjamin Anderson, MSW graduated with his Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, USA, in 2018. He completed research on the prevalence of intergenerational relationships within the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the social support which older LGBTQ+ adults derive from such relationships. During his master’s program he completed a field practicum at Howard Brown Health Center, a health center serving LGBTQ+ individuals, where he provided case management to adults living with diabetes and co-facilitated group therapy for older LGBTQ+ individuals adjusting to a new phase of life.

For the past two years Benjamin has been working as a Social Worker in predominately African and Latinx immigrant schools. He counseled students and their families experiencing mental health challenges, as well as pre-teens and children as they discovered their diverse sexual and gender identities and navigated the coming out process.

Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam where he studies the coming out experiences of LGBTQ+ people from fundamentalist faith backgrounds within Judaism, Islam and Christianity. As a mental health worker his goal is to conduct research that improves the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals, especially those from fundamentalist faith backgrounds.