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

Course Summary:  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, assess and dismantle pathologizing approaches to 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.

Objectives:

1. Define 4 key terms and concepts relevant to TGD identities and experiences within the context of sex therapy.
2. Describe at least three cultural or systemic barriers TGD individuals may encounter and their relation to seeking affirming sexual health care.
3. Apply a culturally responsive framework to assessment, treatment planning, and communication in sex therapy with TGD clients.

Draft Agenda:

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

10:10 AM – Foundations of TGD 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)

10:45 AM – Gender Affirming Practices in Sex Therapy

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

11:20 AM – Gender Affirming Medical Treatment

Best practices and ethics for supporting clients seeking gender affirming medical treatment pre- and post-surgery.

11:40 AM – Case and Final Thoughts

A case will be presented for consolidating learning. Final thoughts to summarize training will be presented.

11:55 AM – Q&A and final thoughts

Open Q&A and participant takeaway reflections

12:00 PM – Adjourn

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Jared Boot-Haury is an agender, queer, board-certified and licensed clinical psychologist, as well as a kink- and poly-affirming AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and Certified Sex Therapist Supervisor based in San Francisco. Their clinical work focuses on identity exploration, psychosexual and relationship concerns, anxiety, and depression. They practice evidence-based therapies including cognitive-behavioral therapy and emotionally focused therapy, having completed LGBTQ+-centered couples therapy training in EFT and CBT training at the Beck Institute. In addition to individual and relationship therapy, Dr. Boot-Haury is a certified member and mentor with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and provides surgical assessment letters for transgender and gender-diverse clients. Their goal in treatment is to help clients feel safe, understood, and supported on their journey toward self-acceptance and healing. Dr. Boot-Haury also serves as Public Policy Committee Co-Chair for the American Psychological Association’s Division on the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. They have received both national and international awards, published in scientific journals, and presented research on LGBTQ+ health at numerous conferences worldwide. Their work has also been featured in media outlets including AskMen, Scientific American, and Newsweek.