Affirmative Therapy with Trans and Gender Expansive Teens ( 1.5 CE Hours )

Description:

This workshop will explore affirmative therapy with trans and gender expansive teens.  Working with teens who have previously identified as trans and are moving from puberty blockers to gender affirming hormones will be discussed, as well as working with teens who are coming out during adolescence.  The presenter will discuss nonbinary and fluid identities and strategies for exploring these paths with teens.  Discussing these different experiences of teens exploring gender will highlight the diversity of gender journeys and the uniqueness between individuals’ processes of finding gender congruence.  The presenter will share her model and tool for determining readiness for medical gender transition treatments with teens and their parents.    Common medical treatments will be discussed, such as hormone therapy and chest reconstruction surgery, and guidelines for writing letters of support for such treatments will be presented.  The experiences of de-transitioning teens will be explored and strategies for mitigating the risk of de-transition will be presented.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the diverse paths of gender exploration for teens.
• Explain how to determine readiness for medical gender transition treatments, using a structured clinical tool with teens and their parents.
• Explain how to determine readiness for medical gender transition treatments, using a structured clinical tool with teens and their parents.
• Discuss teens’ experiences of de-transition and strategies for mitigating the risk of de-transition

Activity Schedule:

• 15 minutes Defining affirmative care for trans and gender expansive teens
• 15 minutes The diversity of experiences and paths for teens exploring gender
• 30 minutes Determining readiness for medical gender transition treatments
• 15 minutes Writing letters of support for medical treatments
• 15 minutes Teens who de-transition and strategies for mitigating the risk of de-transition

Presenter Bio:

Deb is a private practice clinician and an assistant professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy Department at Syracuse University. She has been doing therapy with LGBTQ youth and their families for nearly 20 years. She created the Transgender Treatment Team in Syracuse University’s Couple and Family Therapy Center, where she trains and supervises masters students to work with transgender people and their families.

Dr. Coolhart has several publications on clinical work with LGBTQ youth. Her recent work has focused on transgender youth and their families. She has developed a tool for assessing youths’ and families’ readiness for gender transition treatments, published in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. She has also published multiple manuscripts on supporting transgender youth and families in therapy and advocating for trans-affirmative school environments. Recently, she co-authored a book, The Gender Quest Workbook: A Guide for Teens and Young Adults Exploring Gender Identity. Additionally, Dr. Coolhart has conducted research on transgender people and their family relationships and the experiences of LGBTQ homeless youth.