TransgenderTherapyand Training

Course Outline

MORNING

Introductions and Overview of the Workshop
    Background of trainer and participants
    
Definition of Terms and Overview
    Sexual Identity- Biological sex/gender identity/gender role/sexual orientation
    Gender Paradigms- Binary or Spectrum/Transexual or Transgender/Fluid or Stable 
Theories of Etiology- Biogenetic vs. developmental
Transgender Identities/Range and age/ Who clinicians see in practice and why they come to therapy
How we look at gender/Culture and the role of stigma/ Differences between MTF and FTM
History of Assessment and Management in the West/Standards of Care/ Pathological vs. Normative Models of Transgender Identity/Current thinking

What You Need to Know to be a Gender Specialist
        General Psychotherapy
        Identity development
        Gender Identity Development- Normative
        Transgender Identity Development
            Impact of lack of mirroring/stigma, potential and real rejection on developing sense of self
        Assessment/Range of Transgender and Gender Variant Identities
        Standards of Care and the role of the clinician in assessment and referral
        Knowledge of common comorbid conditions such as
            Depression/Anxiety/Attachment issues/Trauma/chemical dependency/Dissociation/Grief/loss
Who You Need to Be to be a Gender Specialist
Other providers you will work with- International and local teams
Benefits and Challenges of Working with Transgender People
What Clinical Orientations are most useful and why

BREAK

A Psychodynamic Model of Transgender Identity Development 
    Critical Stages
    Intrapsychic and External Stressors
    Case Examples and Treatment

Brief Introduction to The Standards of Care and the role of the clinician
What Happens Physically and Emotionally in a Gender Transition

LUNCH

AFTERNOON

Ronie's Story
Discussion of Ronie's Story and how her history relates to the morning's training
Working with families/children/employers
Snippet of Film w/Lin & Jamison/Grief over loss of SO and child and how it's handled in therapy

BREAK

Advanced Case Material
Complex Cases including those who make inner rather than outer transitions
Cases where gender never stabilizes and remains fluid/ethical considerations
Working with unconscious and archetypal material in assessment and treatment-Poetry/Art/Dreams
Importance of narrative and story

Ending on an up note- Snippet of Film showing Transgender Gospel Choir