Description of Resource: This card deck is designed as a resource for counselors to use with clients who fall under the non-binary umbrella. Non-binary and gender non-conforming people often experience some distress or disconnect with their gender identity as they work through what gender really means to them. Gender non-conforming youth are a particularly vulnerable group, and it is important to support their gender journey as soon as possible. With this card deck, I aim to assist counselors in facilitating a discussion about gender, where the card deck is meant to help the counselor guide the client in expressing their gender identity and putting into words how they might feel inside. This is all with the goal to empower non-binary youth and to affirm their gender identity no matter what it might be. 

Drawing from River J. Heisler's paper, "Non-binary gender in "The Room Where It Happens': Towards a phenomenological approach to clinical existential practice with non-binary and gender-expansive patients", I set out to make this card deck something that reflects the experiences of non-binary people and to acknowledge that discussing one's gender, epsecially a gender that falls outside of the male-female binary, can be challenging and scary. 

Gender shapes how we exist in this world on a fundamental level, so acknowledging and accepting someone's gender exactly as they describe it can be a massive step towards fully integrating intersectionality into the therapy office.

Click through the cards above! Downloadable deck here! 

References

Heisler, R. J. (2025). Non-binary Gender in ‘The Room Where It Happens’: Towards a phenomenological approach to clinical existential practice with non-binary and gender-expansive patients. Existential Analysis, 36(1), 97–110. https://doi-org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/10.65828/qg49b075