Guest Editor's Note

This special issue of the Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling focuses on the intersectionality of adult populations within the LGBTQ community.This theme was birthed out of experiences and conversations with peers and colleagues about the lack of representation and voices from marginalized groups within the LGBTQ community.Unfortunately, these voices are often not heard or are ignored.The purpose of this special issue is to shed light on marginalized groups within the LGBTQ community and highlight topics that are seldom addressed in counseling discourse.Representation matters, and it is important for mental health professionals to be aware of not only the importance of representation but also how they can be more inclusive in their clinical practices with clients.The manuscripts within this special issue focus primarily on the needs of BIPOC LGBTQ individuals.Manuscripts in this special issue include collaborative conceptual, theoretical, and empirical pieces that focus on new approaches to working with LGB African American clients, narrative inquiry of LGBTQ POC experiences of making meaning of externalized oppression, Black same-gender loving relationships, eating pathology among transgender and nonbinary POC, and barriers among older LGBTQ Asian Americans.It is our hope that these manuscripts promote an awareness of the importance of representation in a variety of mental health topics within BIPOC LGBTQ groups.We also hope that the knowledge and information herein encourage readers to engage in difficult dialogues and engage in advocacy efforts to better support and serve the BIPOC LGBTQ community.