Culturally Competent Sex Therapy with Transgender and Gender Diverse Clients (2 CE hours)

Description:

This 2-hour training provides sex therapists with foundational and advanced tools to deliver culturally competent, affirming care to transgender and gender diverse (TGD) clients. Drawing on WPATH standards, VA clinical experience, and leading-edge community-based models, this course emphasizes lifespan-informed, trauma-sensitive, and non-pathologizing approaches to sexual health care when working with TGD clients. Participants will explore inclusive practices for gender-affirming surgical letter writing, assess and dismantle gatekeeping in therapy, and apply frameworks that integrate both clinical precision and cultural humility. Through lecture, discussion, and case-based learning, attendees will also increase their capacity to support TGD clients navigating sex therapy with compassion, competence, and confidence.

Learning Objectives:

• Define key terms and concepts relevant to TGD identities and experiences within the context of sex therapy.
• Describe at least three cultural or systemic barriers TGD individuals may encounter when seeking affirming sexual health care.
• Apply a culturally responsive framework to assessment, treatment planning, and communication in sex therapy with TGD clients.

Schedule:

10:00 AM – Welcome and Overview & Introduction to the training goals, audience check-in

10:10 AM – Foundations of TGNC Identities in Sexual Health

Define key terminology and explore gender diversity across the lifespan. Discuss sexual health concerns and intersectional experiences

10:30 AM – Barriers to TGD affirming sexual health care

Identify cultural and systemic challenges (e.g., stigma, bias, provider gatekeeping). Case example to illustrate access-related challenges

10:50 AM – Gender Affirming Practices in Sex Therapy

Inclusive assessment and treatment planning approaches. Trauma-informed strategies for working with TGNC clients in sex therapy. Integration of desire, pleasure, embodiment, and consent

11:20 AM – Surgical Letter Writing Without Gatekeeping

WPATH-aligned best practices and ethics. Tips for writing affirming, legally appropriate letters. Sample scripting and template overview

11:40 AM – Implementation and Integration

Strategies for immediate application in clinical settings. Reflection on role, advocacy, and continued learning

11:55 AM – Q&A and final thoughts

Open Q&A and participant takeaway reflections

12:00 PM – Adjourn

Speaker Bio:

Jared Boot-Haury, PsyD (he/they), graduated with their PsyD in clinical psychology from the Michigan School of Psychology and a graduate certificate in LGBT Health Policy and Practice from George Washington University. Jared’s clinical postdoctoral fellowship was focused on LGBTQ+ health at the San Francisco VA Health Care System. He serves as the Policy and Government Affairs Committee Chair of GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality, where they focus on translating research into practice through policies and positions that encourage more affirming healthcare practices for health professionals who work with LGBTQ+ people. They were recognized for this work by the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Sexual and Gender Minority Special Interest Group as the 2023 recipient of the Award for Service and Social Justice. Jared’s research to date has focused on improving mental health care experiences for LGBTQ+ communities and exploring minority stressors within LGBTQ+ populations with an emphasis on asexual individuals.

Through a project funded by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Michigan in collaboration with the Michigan Psychological Association and the NASW-MI, he examined the effect of group assignment to an intensive transgender-specific training group on transgender cultural competency training among mental health professionals. Jared’s research has also focused on the impact of minority stressors and resilience on mental health and measuring stigmatizing experiences among asexual communities. His dissertation, recognized by the APA Division 44 (Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diveristy) Transgender Research Award, investigated the impact of minority stressors and resilience factors on psychological distress among individuals holding intersecting transgender/gender diverse and asexual identities.

Jared utilizes various quantitative and qualitative methods, including thematic analysis, regression analysis, analysis of variance, and psychometric analysis.