Full Course Description

Transgender and Non-Binary Youth: Advanced Practice Gender-Affirming Interventions to Help Clients Live an Authentic Life

Program Information

Objectives

1. Practice essential vocabulary and articulate language that is nonjudgmental and affirming while avoiding hurtful and/or outdated terminology and expressions.
2. Analyze and understand increased risk of mental health difficulties including suicidality, negative impact of transphobic comments, and adverse impact of gender dysphoria on daily functioning facing transgender children and adolescents at home, school, and in the community.
3. Support the need for protective factors such as supportive family, school environment and community and access to programs to connect with other trans youth to reduce feelings of isolation, access to gender affirming health care.
4. Appraise risk factors such as peer rejection, lack of access to gender affirming mental and medical care, being subjected to conversion therapy, rejecting family members, being misgendered, and “dead named” all adversely impact health, educational, and mental health outcomes for transgender young clients.
5. Employ safe individual and family counseling to address potentially hurtful, sensitive and/or nuanced behaviors by parents and other adult caregivers to increase support their children in the gender transition process.
6. Implement evidence-based strategies to work with parents and families, including helping parents build a Safe Folder to protect against accusations of child abuse with regard to gender transition and how to reconcile parental disagreements related to child’s transition.

Outline

Beyond Welcoming: Creating Space for Gender Expansiveness

• Accurate, affirming language – how, when, and why it’s used
• Transphobia – it’s impact on sense of self
• Tangible ways to create a welcoming clinical space
• How heteronormality has influenced “Gender Dysphoria”
• Gender identity versus gender expression

Judgement Free Zone: Clinical Assessment and Screening

• Five keys to assessing gender identity
• Interview strategies and questions for children and parents
• Limitations of DSM-5™ Gender Dysphoria Diagnosis
• Transphobia - impact of external and internalized
• Increase protective factors to decrease vulnerability
• Discern for comorbidities eating disorders, selfharm, suicidality

Essential Strategies for Support Through Transitions

• Prepare for transitions – creating support across domains
• Unique trajectory of prepubescent clients
• Manage social transition at home, school and in the community
• Discuss hormone blockers - the importance of psychoeducation for parents
• Cross-sex hormones and surgery – informed consent & letter writing
• Support name changes and gender markers

Developing Child-Specific Gender Support Plans for All Settings

• Evidence-based techniques to alleviate gender dysphoria
• Implement a child-specific gender support plan
• Tools to reduce dysphoria and improve wellness
• Step-by-step suicide assessment with youth
• Holistic consultation with a diverse care team
• Structing an effective group session

In-depth Collaboration with Parents: Do’s, Don’t, & Nuance

• Build rapport with challenging parental qualities or viewpoints
• Manage parental grief over child’s transitions
• How and when to refer parents for mental health support
• Address religious concerns and barriers
• Identify harmful and helpful parent behaviors
• Provide coaching and psychoeducation with ease

Ethical Considerations when Providing Clinical Services

• How to reconcile parental disagreements related to child’s transition
• Center the child’s voice in the process
• Help parents create a “Safe Folder”
• Expand and staying within scope of practice
• Conversion Therapy – unsafe and unethical aspects
• Critically challenging personal biases

Copyright: 1/13/2022