An Interactive Guide to Emotions "Everything will be all right" It helps you make sense of your feelings and maintain trust within the family after your child comes out. The bot was created by psychologists in collaboration with parents of LGBTQ+ children and is available for free on Telegram.

What's this about? 

A child’s coming out can be a time of acute crisis for a family, after which parents often find themselves isolated: without reliable information or the opportunity to consult a psychologist, they withdraw into themselves and become stuck in their own emotions. The situation is exacerbated by queerphobic attitudes in society and the discriminatory policies of some governments.

The interactive guide “Everything Will Be Okay” was created precisely for situations like these. It’s a safe and anonymous tool for psychological support—it’s free and available at any time. The chatbot format was also chosen because, when under stress, people find it easier to interact with text than to make a phone call or start a video chat.

A team of psychologists with many years of experience counseling families with queer children worked on the guide. And parents of LGBTQ+ individuals tested the bot at various stages and helped tailor it to the audience’s actual needs.

How the bot works

Communication When It's Hard to Find the Right Words

When a user opens the bot, they enter a well-defined world of emotions. Among them, they can choose the one they’re experiencing right now. This makes it easier to start working with their feelings, because when under stress, many people find it difficult to formulate a request or describe their experiences. This approach sets the guide apart from generic neural networks.

A well-planned route

By selecting an emotion, users of the guide go through a step-by-step process—from becoming familiar with the emotion and reducing its intensity to mastering psychological self-help practices. The expertise of specialists and host families, which forms the basis of the bot, ensures a gentle and precise journey. The guide will not provide unpredictable responses, as sometimes happens when interacting with artificial intelligence, but offers only proven techniques for regulating emotions.

Accessibility and Safety

The bot does not require registration and does not store users' personal data. All you need to do is log in to it on Telegram. You can pause the guide or completely delete the chat history at any time.

Quotes

Inga Green, psychologist and co-author of the guide

The bot can be used in any situation described by the following phrases «I was overwhelmed with emotions», «I'm confused and don't know what to think», «It's scary to even think about it». The bot will help you figure out what's overwhelming you, why you're scared, and what's making you so uncomfortable.

Tanya, a host mom and consultant who helped create the guide

When you learn something about your child that doesn't fit with your vision for their future, the first feeling you experience is — It’s fear. And these fears grow stronger every day. The worst part is that it’s scary and embarrassing to share these feelings with anyone, because it seems like all you’ll hear in response is judgment, accusations of poor parenting, stories about the corrupting influence of the West, and advice to go to church. A psychological guide, of course, won’t provide specific answers to these questions, but it will help you cope with your emotions in the moment. It’s a tool that will remind you that it’s important to take care of yourself, too, and will guide you step by step on how to stop falling into a pit of unanswered questions. This is important because you can only support your child—who is also going through a difficult time—if you have some kind of support yourself. In the early stages, this emotional guide can serve as that support ❤️

Oksana Gumenna, psychologist and psychotherapist

Sometimes it’s hard for us to see a psychologist or find a competent professional. And our minds are filled with a flood of thoughts. Naturally, these thoughts aren’t exactly helpful; they’re most often tied to stereotypes and fears that are perpetuated in our societies. The range of feelings and emotions we experience is very individual. But usually, of course, it’s fear and anger. No matter what emotion you’re feeling or how intense it is, this chatbot will definitely help you at least tone down your emotions a bit and bring yourself back to a more grounded state.

Creators

The interactive guide was developed by the team “The Same People” (formerly “Illuminator”). In their educational projects, they shed light on the invisible experiences of stigmatized groups: queer people, people living with HIV, people with disabilities, and people with neurodivergent traits. The team works at the intersection of psychology, media, and art, creating educational courses, chatbots, podcasts, documentaries, and animated films.

With the support of

"Plus Voice" — an international movement of parents and loved ones in support of LGBTQ+ people. It brings together groups from Armenia, Belarus, Germany, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.

Quarteera e. V.. — a community of LGBTQ+ people living in Germany who communicate in Russian.

Contacts

If you have a question or would like to discuss creating exclusive content, please contact By Roman Polyakov on Telegram @roma_poliakov or email [email protected].