Transgender & Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) Adult Clients: Four Keys to Create a Gender-Affirming Therapeutic Environment

CPD

Handouts

Speaker

Dianne Gottlieb, MS, LMFT Related seminars and products

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Dianne Gottlieb, MS, LMFT, gender therapist, has been working with transgender and gender non-binary individuals and their families for over 15 years. She is dedicated to being a resource and advocate for her clients and is a respected educator of therapists and medical professionals in Arizona.

A former film studio publicist and national television producer, Dianne has a private practice in Scottsdale, AZ, where she specializes in gender therapy, premarital counseling, love relationship problems, life and career transitions, self-esteem issues, and LGBTQ counseling.

A graduate of Seton Hall University with a Masters of Science in marriage and family therapy, she is a member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), a Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and a past board director of the Arizona Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. For nine years, Dianne also taught college courses in abnormal psychology and the psychology of human sexuality.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dianne Gottlieb maintains a private practice. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dianne Gottlieb is a Clinical Fellow for the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. She is a member of the Arizona Interest Network of AAMFT, the AAMFT Queer & Trans Advocacy Network, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Alternate Options

Objectives

1. Communicate the complexities that transgender clients face daily including physical, mental, and social discomfort and how to address these in clinical practice
2. Develop a deep comprehension of the ways that a client’s own identity can create a trusting, effective relationship, and how their identity can negatively affect the clinical relationship.
3. Apply concepts of affirmative clinical practice with gender diverse clients.
4. Ascertain the various gender diverse identities and understand the ways that intersecting identities create further challenges in daily life.
5. Assess your current clinical practice to determine how affirmative your practice is for gender diverse clients.
6. Individualize and create a transition timeline and goals with your client.
7. Prepare letters for clients seeking feminizing and masculinizing hormone therapy and gender confirmation surgeries.

Outline

• Distinguish Between Sex and Gender
  • Difference between sex and gender
  • How gender identity is formed
  • Phenomenon of being intersexed and transgender
• Challenge the Binary Gender Spectrum
  • Examine the traditional binary gender spectrum by challenging traditional views of gender
  • Gender identity vs gender expression
  • Latest terminology
  • Physical, mental, and social discomfort
• 4 Keys to Create a Gender-Affirming
  • Therapeutic Environment
  • Gender-Affirming Therapy Model
  • Prepare inclusive intake forms
  • Create a gender-neutral setting and safe environment
  • Gender-appropriate, respectful language
• Mental Health in Gender Dysphoric Clients
  • Distinguish between Gender Dysphoria and other mental health diagnoses
  • Possible causes of transgenderism
  • Evaluate for possible co-existing disorders found in transgender clients: Anxiety, Depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, and body dysmorphia
  • Suicidality and self-mutilation
  • History of gender identity and self-realizations
  • Explore feelings of internalized transphobia
• Early Stages of Transition
  • Identify transition goals: non-medical, medical, legal, and social
  • Create a transition timeline
• Coming Out Process
  • Who, when and how to tell others
  • Help families process the coming out of a loved one
  • Transitioning on the job
  • Feeling unsafe in America
  • Create a support system
• Address Medical & Legal Transition Goals
  • Medical transition goals - WPAT H Standards of Care
  • Therapist’s role as a “Gatekeeper”
  • Informed Consent Model of treatment
  • Prepare letters for feminizing/masculinizing hormone therapy and gender confirmation surgeries
  • Effects of cross-gender hormones
  • Basics of gender-related surgeries
  • Prepare clients for legal name, gender marker and birth certificate changes
• Gains & Losses of Transitioning
  • Social impact of coming out and transition goals on intimate relationships, family and friends
  • Help families and significant others navigate their own reactions
  • Changing roles in love relationships and families
  • Positives of living an authentic, accepted life
  • Potential negatives
    • Loss of relationships
    • Impact on children
    • Dealing with others’ unacceptance
    • Confusion or grief
    • Discrimination
    • Loss of employment
    • Homelessness
    • Changes in societal status and privilege
    • Financial and legal burdens
• Socially Living an Authentic Life
  • Learning new gender roles
  • Dating as my true self
  • Passing concerns
  • Living a stealth life
• Become a Resource for Transgender Clients
  • Referral resources in the medical community
  • Local and national trans-friendly resources
  • Support groups and Gender-Affirming organizations
  • Build the therapist’s competency - WPAT H’s Global Education Initiative: The Path to Certification

Target Audience

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