Getting The Word Out

How many times have we heard they we can’t find any therapist to treat us… well that is changing.

This morning I co-presented with a former classmate who specializes trans clients to teach a two hour workshop for social workers. We had a full classroom with over forty LCSW.

I did my half first of the workshop first and I gave them an abridged version of the presentation that I give on cultural competency. For my presentation I first deconstruct gender and  then cover what we have in common with gays and lesbians such as having guilt about letting down family & friends, being disowned by family, religious pressures, stress – from not conforming to sociality’s norms, depression, suicide, we also have to come out, face discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, we face bullying in school and violence together. I added these sections because so many times I hear from cis people “oh I know all about gays and lesbians so I don’t need to learn about trans people.

I cover differences such as having a paper trail (Credit report, Social Security, passport, driver license, school & employment recorders, and birth certificate). I cover Intersectionality; how trans people from different cultures, races, religion, and socioeconomic status face the intersection of gender identity and their cultures.

I have a section on self-esteem and acceptance and how we face more discrimination if we cannot integrate in to society, I use this quote from the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey,

Visual non-conformity is a risk factor in causing anti-transgender bias and its attendant social and economic burdens.

I talk about microaggressions, how low self-esteem affects a trans-people and causes suicidal idealization, drug and alcohol abuse, STDs and HIV/AIDS, and self-harm. How all the negative effects can go away with having a support network.

After I finished my part of the workshop my friend then talked about the clinical aspects of the presentation and how having a trans friendly practice starts at the front door. She covered how to make intake forms more trans friendly, a front staff that is trans friendly, and what to look for in clients who think that they maybe trans. As you might expect she got a lot more questions than I did since the attendees we clinical. She covered the DSM and SOC, the diagnostics and the process for youth, adolescents, and adults.

Many of her question was focused on children and how to tell if they are trans, and a number of questions were about comorbidity with other disorders.

Glancing over the workshop evaluation form it looks like we got high marks from the audience.

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Update 5:45 pm

I just got back from the conference, the other workshop that I attended was,

An Overview of Research on Outcomes for Transgender Youth
This workshop will include a presentation of a number of research studies as the background for a group discussion of the decision-making challenges that professionals face when acting in the best interests of transgender youth. To date, research on outcomes for transgender youth provides only a patchwork of information to guide parents and professionals. While more research is underway, clinicians have to make decisions concerning transgender youth in our care without waiting for additional outcome studies. This intermediate workshop will give participants the opportunity to discuss specific ethical or clinical challenges that have arisen in their work with transgender youth and how the available research can inform their practice.

It was an excellent workshop I learned a lot about research on trans youth and I found out that a trans youth can only be on puberty blockers for two years. The main problem with using them longer is bone density. Also I learned that they use puberty blockers for precocious puberty who start puberty too young like at 6 or 7 years old, so when people tell you that it is experimental treatment for trans children they are wrong and that there are longitudinal studies that show there are no long term detrimental effects from the drug.

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Update 5/4/19 8:30 am

One of the slides that my co-presenter used said about the lose libido when trans women goon hormones and that brought a flashback to some of the questions I get asked.

A couple of times I answered about side effects of taking hormones…

Well some of the lesser known side effects are you stop and ask directions, read instructions, and you learn the meaning of “Not tonight honey.”