Full Course Description

Reclaiming 2SQT+ (Two-spirit, Queer and Trans) Thriving and Liberation

Prior to European colonization, 2-SQT communities were celebrated and venerated in Indigenous and many communities worldwide. Despite this critical historical context, 2-SQT communities in the US and worldwide continue to be targeted politically and discriminated against daily. This undue stress has been linked to higher, and now rising rates of suicide among 2-SQT communities. For example, The Trevor Project (2022) reported that 45% of 2-SQT youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year and nearly 1 in 5 transgender and nonbinary youth attempted suicide. Furthermore, rates of suicide attempts were generally higher among 2-SQT youth of color, and particularly among Native/Indigenous 2-SQT youth (The Trevor Project, 2022). Mental health providers have a unique responsibility in mitigating suicidal risk among 2-SQT communities, however, are often operating in a system of gatekeeping that can further hinder the health and well-being of 2-SQT communities. This training will review clinical applications for providing affirming support and language, discuss why intersectionality and anti-racism matters as we employ 2-SQT affirming models of care, and learn how these culturally responsive clinical applications are critical to cultivating communities where 2SQT people can thrive.

Program Information

Objectives

Use 2-SQT affirming language to promote clinical outcomes and therapeutic relationships.
Apply a 2-SQT affirming model to create inclusive spaces.
Integrate intersectionality and anti-racist frameworks in supporting 2SQT communities.

Outline

Introduction

Explanation of 2-SQT affirming language and its importance

Using 2-SQT Affirming Language

Using preferred pronouns and names
Avoiding assumptions about gender and sexuality

Intersectionality and 2-SQT Communities

Definition of intersectionality
Importance of recognizing intersecting identities
Example of intersectionality in 2SQT communities

Anti-Racism and 2-SQT Communities

Definition of anti-racism
Importance of anti-racism in supporting 2SQT communities
Examples of anti-racist policies and practices

Integrating Intersectionality and Anti-Racism in Support for 2-SQT Communities

Importance of integrating intersectionality and anti-racism
Creating a more inclusive and equitable society
Promoting diverse identities and experiences of all individuals

Conclusion

Recap of importance of using 2-SQT affirming language and integrating intersectionality and anti-racism in support for 2SQT communities.

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors
Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychologists
Therapists
Social Workers
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 05/24/2023

Seeing Ourselves Alongside (not Beyond) Our LGBTQ+ Clients

This workshop was created to deepen the clinician’s understanding of how their own identities and cultural underpinnings affect their work consciously and unconsciously, and what are some strategic tools to use when needing to shift one’s practice to be more intentional and inclusive of those with marginalized identities. Join Dr. Thomas in developing a solid understanding of how intersectionality impacts LGBTQ+ clients and apply practical clinical tools to explore, validate and transform deep-seated inequities in clinical practice. We will combine clinical knowledge, skills and techniques and create for an anti-racist and anti-oppressionist framework to help support your practice but also your own health and well-being. The participant will walk away with an intentionally intra-inclusive framework used to help guide yourself in practice during this difficult time for all.

Program Information

Objectives

Create an informed anti-racist and anti-oppressionist, intentional intra-inclusive framework used to help guide their clinical practice and hold accountability for their work and development.
Develop a strong practitioner identity by examining the significance of self-care and accountability in professional practice, and by exploring historical knowledge through various exercises and discussions.
Appraise perspective and broaden worldview by reviewing and utilizing resources relevant to each concept area, and by actively engaging in critical analysis and discussion of the materials.

Outline

Introduction

Briefly introduce the importance of analyzing ourselves in clinical practice
Provide an overview of the three main topics to be discussed: intersectionality, covering, and passing

Intersectionality and Intra-inclusive Practice

Define intersectionality and explain why it's important to apply it as a framework to clinical practice
Analyze how mental health intersects with the LGBTQ+ community
Discuss our responsibility as clinicians to uplift accountability
Explain why an intra-inclusive practice is essential to good clinical practice

Covering and Passing as a Survival in Social Environments

Define covering and passing and explain how they function as survival mechanisms
Analyze how these concepts impact our work as clinicians
Discuss how we can actively work against these harmful behaviors

Creating Our Own Framework: Tools Needed to Formulate Affirming Practices

Discuss the importance of ethics, morals, and values in clinical practice
Explain the benefits of continuing education and learning from diverse teachers
Analyze the role of supervision in developing supportive and active feedback
Highlight the significance of community involvement as accountability

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors
Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychologists
Therapists
Social Workers
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 05/24/2023

Trauma and Minority Stress Treatments for Gender Diverse Communities

Program Information

Objectives

Explain the benefits of the gender-affirming model
Identify three types of gender transition
Describe the three phases of the triphasic model of trauma treatment

Outline

Trans 101

How to talk with your clients—pronouns and more
Supporting clients in transition—social, legal, and medical transition
Microaggressions and microaffirmations of trans identity in therapy

Trauma in Trans Communities

What do we mean when we talk about trauma?
What kinds of traumas are trans people experiencing?
How does trauma exposure lead to psychological disturbance?
What are the mental health concerns that trans people describe?

The Triphasic Model of Trauma Treatment

Safety and stabilization that respects trans bodies
Reprocessing that respects trans identities
Community integration that respects trans communities

Case Studies

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors
Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychologists
Therapists
Social Workers
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 05/24/2023

Disability, Gender and Sexuality

Disabled people constitute 15% of the population globally and 26% of adults within the United States alone. Despite being one of the largest minoritized groups, disabled people are often overlooked and underserved within the field of mental health, given that ableism and sanism are ubiquitous in clinical practice. Disabled LGBTQ+ people are no exception. In this presentation, Dr. Iantaffi will provide a brief overview of the issues impacting disabled LGBTQ+ clients and clinicians and use the Disability Justice framework to offer some guiding principles that clinicians can apply to their own practice.

Program Information

Objectives

Determine how ableism impacts their LGBTQ+ clients;
Appraise their clinical practices for inclusivity when working with disabled LGBTQ+ clients;
Employ interventions rooted in Disability Justice principles.

Outline

Understanding models of disability

Defining disability
Historical theoretical models of disability (medical, social, feminist)
The intersection of disability, gender and sexuality

What are ableism and sanism?

Ableism’s impact on LGBTQ+ clients
How ableism is ubiquitous in clinical training and practice
The tension between sanism and mental health practices

The intersection of disability and LGBTQ+ issues

Issues impacting disabled LGBTQ+ clients and therapists
Impact of infantilization and desexualization of disabled LGBTQ+ clients
Clinical vignettes

Disability Justice Principles

What is Disability Justice
Ten Principles of Disability Justice
Clinical application of three disability justice principles
Invitation to identify three changes needed in clinical practice and/or training

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors
Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychologists
Therapists
Social Workers
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 05/24/2023

Clinical Frameworks and Applications in Working with LGBTQ+ People of Color

LGBTQ+ Clients of Color confront multiple systems of social oppression, such as racism, cissexism, and heterosexism, which results in unique, intersectional stressors and compounding stress. These experiences are thought to contribute to high rates of mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Nevertheless, LGBTQ+ Clients of Color have distinctive strengths that buffer the worst of societal oppression’s consequences. Due to bias, mental health and behavioral health settings have either neglected or ill-treated this community leading to further harm. Therefore, there remain opportunities within these environments for mental health practitioners and mental health systems to alleviate these toxic stressors and leverage LGBTQ+ Clients of Color’s strengths to improve mental health outcomes. During this workshop, Hayden Dawes demonstrates how practitioners can identify these stressors while bolstering the client’s inner resources. The workshop will focus on key frameworks such as intersectionality and cultural humility with an overview of transdiagnostic dimensions and applications in working with LGBTQ+ People of Color.

Program Information

Objectives

Apply theoretical frameworks and practice their associated applications in improving the working alliance in clinical treatment with LGBTQ+ people of color.
Analyze and distinguish how LGBTQ+’s life experiences are similar and dissimilar to stressors experienced by LGBTQ+ White people and non-LGBTQ+ people of color.
Evaluate personal biases that may impede relational processes with LGBTQ+ people of color in mental health and behavioral health treatment.

Outline

Importance of racial identity to understanding sexual and gender orientation

How to create an atmosphere of cultural humility during the therapeutic process
Limitations of Research and Potential Risks
Ways to consider one’s personal bias in their clinical practice

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors
Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychologists
Therapists
Social Workers
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 05/25/2023

Stronger Together

Although knowledge on affirming therapy for sexual and gender diverse people has expanded in recent decades, clinician lack accurate knowledge about the diverse relationship styles of this population related to forms of consensual non-monogamies (including swinging, polyamory and open relationships). With rapidly expanding literature on CNM relationships within LGBTQIA+ populations, insights on the individual and relational strengths of this population and emerging best practices in CNM-affirming clinical work will be explored to identify, nurture, and integrate these resources for flourishing into practice with CNM sexual and gender diverse clients.

Program Information

Objectives

Identify the components of the three-pillar model of positive psychology as an organizing framework for strengths
Identify likely CNM ”signature strengths” as indicated by current theory and research
Identify strategies to assess and build signature strengths in work with CNM individuals and systems

Outline

Definitions, terms, & demographics

Mononormativity & CNM stigma

Intersections across identities

Positive psychology, strengths & thriving

Curiosity & Open-mindedness
Creativity & Integrity
Love; Community & Fairness
Self-Regulation

Tools & strategies for CNM thriving

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors
Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychologists
Therapists
Social Workers
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 05/25/2023

Fluid Sexuality and Gay Men

This workshop focuses on gay male sexual fluidity While sexual fluidity is emerging and becoming more prominent in both the academic and clinical realms, many health care professionals are still largely confused and unaware of some of the complexities and scenarios that exist among a population that does not fit neatly into the over-simplified understandings that traditionally exist around sexual orientation, sexual identity, sexual attraction and sexual pathology. Other than simply being “in the closet”, the presentation reviews some of the common scenarios and categories of men who fall into the emerging sexual classification of male sexual fluidity, who may identify as even straight or heteroflexible.

Program Information

Objectives

Describe the range of male sexual fluidity beyond traditional gay or bisexual identities, by identifying common categories and scenarios.
Summarize of the impact of kink and fetish dynamics on male sexual fluidity, and their contribution towards sexual exploration and identity.
Distinguish between sexual orientation and erotic orientation and recognize how each impacts an individual's sexual experiences and preferences.

Outline

Learn the difference between sexual orientation and erotic orientation

Recognize the wide variety of sexual expression amongst gay men

Intercourse vs. Outercourse

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors
Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychologists
Therapists
Social Workers
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 05/25/2023

Contextualising DBT, CBT and CFT for LGBTQ+ People

CBT, CFT, and DBT are prominent therapeutic approaches for the treatment of common mental health diagnoses, like depression, anxiety, and trauma. However, these approaches are often applied in ways that do not always consider the context of being an LGBTQ+ person. This presentation will cover the basic foundations of these modalities, review potential limitations of these approaches when working with LGBTQ+ people, and offer ways to consider the full intersectionality of LGBTQ+ people using these modalities.

Program Information

Objectives

To apply core psychological models such as Minority Stress Theory and Cognitive Behavioural theory to LGBTQ+ experience
To utilize the circles of influence and Intersectional, Social and Systems-based (InSoS) framework in their work with LGBTQ+ people
To integrate intersectional considerations throughout conceptualization of LGBTQ+ distress
To apply a queer-lens to CBT, DBT and CFT psychological techniques and tools

Outline

Definitions and Statistics

Prevalence and relevance

Growing Up and Living as Queer

Questions for Heterosexual People

Systems of Oppression

Minority Stress Theory and Process

Applied CBT

Adapting CBT, DBT, and CFT Skills

Importance of Intersectionality
Circles of Influence
Applying intersectionality in context

Challenging Oppression

Challening Discrimination

Using inclusive Language
Displaying Pronouns
Advocacy

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors
Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychologists
Therapists
Social Workers
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 05/25/2023

Debunking the Safety Myth

Psychotherapists often presume that most forms of deep healing can take place only after we support a client in establishing a sense of safety. However, insisting on establishing a sense of safety can be countertherapeutic and invalidating for clients who are members of marginalized groups. A reliance on feeling safe may set up an impossible expectation for our clients, namely, that they can—and should be able to—feel safe in a profoundly unsafe world. In place of the safety axiom, this workshop will propose engaging our clients, and particularly those from marginalized communities, in nurturing a sense of boundedness. I propose boundedness as a framework that is more culturally humble and allows us to support a client in sitting in the kinds of decidedly queer ambivalence, ambiguity, and uncertainty that are essential to growth, change, healing, and coming into relationship with our embodied selves.

Program Information

Objectives

Articulate three (3) ways in which a discourse of safety can be countertherapeutic.
Define the concepts of “boundedness” and “bounded chaos”.
Apply and deploy at least three (3) somatic, trauma-informed, and pleasure-centered techniques or interventions for building embodied awareness presented in this workshop within one's clinical practice.

Outline

The Safety Axiom in Psychotherapy

How the Safety Axiom is Embedded in Clinical Practice

Problems with the Discourse of Safety

The Therapeutic Situation as “Bounded Chaos”: From Safety to Boundedness

Strategies for Nurturing Boundedness

Tools for Building Embodied Awareness

The Somatic-Imaginal
Finding “yes” and “no” in the body
Identifying Sensations
Case Study

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors
Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychologists
Therapists
Social Workers
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 05/25/2023

F*ck Binaries!: Liberating the Clinical Imagination

What would happen if we thought of our work as helping clients imagine into the radical and transformative possibilities of their being and their relationships, rather than merely “resolving problems”? How might our work shift toward liberation and pleasure, rather than merely resolving distress and pain? In this session, we’ll learn how we can expand our imaginations as therapists—and help our clients dream of horizons beyond what queer theorist José Esteban Muñoz called the “prison house” of the here-and-now. You’ll discover how to:

Explore the reasons we cling to gender and sexuality binaries, such as masculine/feminine; normal/abnormal pleasure; sex/not-sex—and the benefits of stepping outside them
Recognize how clients impose binary constructs on their sexualities
Deploy somatic, pleasure-centered interventions to help clients explore space between and beyond binaries

Program Information

Objectives

Argue 3 ways binaries and binary thinking show up in clinical practice, and particularly how they can foreclose the clinical imagination.
Evaluate the concept of “sexual liberation” and distinguish a liberation politics from concepts like “equality” and “equity.”
Categorize at least 3 ways colonialism, white supremacy, (trans)misogyny, cisheteronormativity impact our clients’ erotic horizons and views of sexuality, desire, and pleasure.
Demonstrate at least 3 trauma-informed, somatic, pleasure-centered tools/interventions introduced in this workshop to their clinical practice, and particularly to help support clients in exploring the spaces between and beyond binaries/binary thinking.

Outline

Introductions, Intentions, Group Agreements
Container-Setting Activity (Visualization)
Failures of the Imagination: The Impacts of Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and Cisheteropatriarchy on our Erotic Horizons
Binaries and Binary Constructs in Sex, Gender, and Sexualities
Erotic Liberation, Pleasure, and Queer Futurities

Target Audience

Psychologists
Physicians
Addiction Counselors
Counselors
Social Workers
Marriage & Family Therapists
Nurses
Other Behavioral Health Professionals

Copyright : 03/11/2022

Two-Spirit Clients: Clinical Interventions for Culturally Competent Care

Gender- and sexual orientation-based violence at the hands of colonizers has been a lived experience for the Indigenous people of the North American continent since the invasion of 1492. Despite centuries of genocide and forced assimilation, a community of people now commonly referred to as Two-Spirit have survived.

This recording will examine the role of community in Two-Spirit survival narratives and offer interventions for working with Two-Spirit people and community in mental health, medical, substance abuse, social work, and school-based settings. You’ll learn new concepts, such as sexual sovereignty and erotic survivance as well as how to use culture as treatment and prevention.

Program Information

Objectives

Assess and understanding of the history of Two-Spirit people and issues and concerns facing this marginalized community of the Native American population.
Apply different approaches for working with the Two Spirit people including using culture as treatment and prevention.
Utilize clinical interventions for working with the Two-Spirit people regarding therapy and education.

Outline

Decolonizing and unsettling sexuality
Historical Two-Spirit perspectives
Contemporary Two-Spirit perspectives
Two-Spirit Futurism
Clinical and Educational Interventions

Target Audience

Licensed Clinical/Mental Health Counselors
Marriage & Family Therapists
Psychologists
School Administrators
Social Workers
Addiction Professionals
Case Managers

Living as Non-binary: Interventions to Support Diverse Gender Identities

As a culture, we are starting to increase understanding of transgender people who fall within the gender binary (i.e., people who are assigned female/male at birth and who socially and/or medically transition to the other binary category). However, nonbinary people are often misunderstood, invalidated, and misgendered. As a result, they are often at higher risk for negative mental health outcomes when compared to binary trans people. Helping professionals often lack understanding of the unique experiences of nonbinary people, and therefore may add to the mistreatment of this population. This presentation will provide helping professionals with knowledge about the developmental process of growing into a nonbinary identity and strategies for supporting nonbinary people in their process of coming out and managing identity. Participants will learn how to support and advocate for nonbinary people in personal and professional relationships as well as the societal level.

Program Information

Objectives

Apply developmental processes to clinical work with nonbinary people to validate and normalize diverse gender identities.
Identify processes and supportive interventions for nonbinary people in their process of coming out and developing gender identity.
Utilize specific strategies to enhance all levels of relational health (personal, professional, societal) for non-binary people.

Outline

Identity Development

Early discomfort with gender binary
Queer sexuality as a path to nonbinary identity
Role and importance of representation and relationships
Experiences with dysphoria and unclear path of congruency
Pervasive invalidation leading to self-assuredness

Coming Out and Identity Management

Coming out (or not) on different levels
Burden to educate
Protective buffers

Strategies for Supporting Nonbinary People

Support in relationships
Support in therapy
Activism and changes in society

Target Audience

Licensed Clinical/Mental Health Counselors
Marriage & Family Therapists
Social Workers
Psychologists
Teachers/School-Based Personnel
School Administrators
Addiction Professionals
Case Managers
Dieticians
Nurses
Nursing Home/Assisted Living Administrators
Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Physical Therapists
Physical Therapist Assistants
Speech-Language Pathologists

Eating Disorders Treatment: Applying a Social Justice Lens for Healing and Liberation

Body dissatisfaction is a primary driver of eating disorders, and when eating disorders occur in marginalized individuals, related dynamics are increasingly complex. Marginalized people seeking professional help may find eating disorders services – which were constructed for cisgender, heterosexual, affluent, thin, able-bodied women – unequipped to provide intervention and treatment for their intersecting identities. This session focuses on practical interventions informed by social justice principles to ensure all individuals with eating disorders can access safe treatment options.

Program Information

Objectives

Appraise the research and practice gaps with regard to EDs and treatment.
Analyze what eating disorders treatment would look like through a social justice lens.
Develop ways to translate awareness into action in our understandings of and approaches to ED treatment.

Outline

Eating Disorders and Social Justice
- Interventions with a social justice approach
- Supporting research
- Group work
- Real case vignettes: The struggles of marginalized folks accessing treatment
Self-Reflection Dialogue
- Safety agreement reviewed again
- Self-reflection exercise
- Ways to safely and compassionately move through discomfort when discussing social justice
Advocate for Change
- Promote social justice in our eating disorders clinics and the field overall
Limitations of the research and potential risks

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Psychiatrists
Marriage & Family Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Registered Dietitians & Dietetic Technicians
Nurses
Other mental health professionals

LGBTQ+ Youth

In the last two years several hundred anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced into state legislatures across the United States, most of them targeting gay and transgender young people. Moreover, the American Library Association notes that nearly 2000 requests to remove books from libraries were made last year, the largest number ever reported, and most requests have targeted books with LGBTQ+ content. It’s no wonder that gay, lesbian and transgender young people feel especially threatened, unsupported, and victimized. Surveys find that the majority of ‘queer’ youth desire counseling services, putting therapists in an ideal position to help with these fears and anxieties. In this webinar, you will learn how you can help the LGBTQ+ young people in your practice, your schools and communities – and your own families.

Program Information

Objectives

Evaluate the realistic threats to LGBTQ+ youth in your state and distinguish them from unwarranted fears.
Apply principles of affirmative therapy to help allay the anxiety of your young LGBTQ+ clients and their families.
Develop strategies to help ‘queer’ young people and their families cope with and change biased policies in their school and community organizations.

Outline

Introduction

Overview of the problem
Importance of addressing the issue

The Scope of the Problem

Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation
Book banning efforts
Focus on specific state

How LGBTQ+ Youth are Impacted

Daily life implications
Mental health consequences
Suicidality and risk factors

Clinical Strategies with Youth

Creating a safe and supportive environment
Practical and effective guidance

Clinical Strategies with Families

Working with families
Encouraging support and acceptance

Impacting Schools and Community

Advocacy efforts
Making a difference in the community

Conclusion

Importance of addressing the issue
Encouraging continued efforts and support

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors
Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychologists
Therapists
Social Workers
Other Mental Health Professionals

Clinical Tools for Self-Injury Among LGBTQ+ People

Join Clinical Psychologist and author of The Queer Mental Health Workbook, Dr. Brendan Dunlop, to learn the unique stressors and causes of self-injury among LGBTQ+ people. Walk away feeling confident in knowing how to assess for and treat self-injurious behavior with your LGBTQ+ clients in a way where they feel seen and understood.

Program Information

Objectives

Define key terms related to self-injury and its unique stressors and causes among LGBTQ+ individuals.
Analyze the prevalence and risk groups associated with self-injury among LGBTQ+ individuals.
Evaluate various theories, such as the Four Function Model and Cognitive-Emotional Model, to understand self-injury in the LGBTQ+ community.
Apply a risk assessment approach to identify self-injurious behavior in LGBTQ+ clients.
Develop strategies for working with self-injury and addressing the impact of self-injury on staff.
Explore the benefits and barriers of different treatment approaches for self-injury among LGBTQ+ individuals.
Apply experiential avoidance techniques to manage difficult emotions and improve emotional regulation skills in LGBTQ+ clients.

Outline

Definitions and Myth Busting

The Spectrum of Self-harm

Prevalence & Risk Groups

Theories

Four Function Model
Benefits and Barriers
Cognitive-Emotional Model
Experiential Avoidance

Functions

Example of Understanding

Rick Assessment

Working with self-harm: Impact on Staff

Working with self-harm: Self care

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Marriage & Family Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Educators
Nurses
Other Professions