A Clinician’s Guide to Gender-Affirming Care: Working with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients

Transgender and gender nonconforming (TNGC) clients have complex mental health concerns, and are more likely than ever to seek out treatment. This comprehensive resource outlines the latest research and recommendations to provide you with the requisite knowledge, skills, and awareness to treat TNGC clients with competent and affirming care. As you know, TNGC clients have different needs based on who they are in relation to the world. Written by three psychologists who specialize in working with the TGNC population, this important book draws on the perspective that there is no one-size-fits-all approach for working with TNGC clients. It offers interventions tailored to developmental stages and situational factors—for example, cultural intersections such as race, class, and religion. This book provides up-to-date information on language, etiquette, and appropriate communication and conduct in treating TGNC clients, and discusses the history, cultural context, and ethical and legal issues that can arise in working with gender diverse individuals in a clinical setting. You’ll also find information about informed consent approaches that call for a shift in the role of the mental health provider in the position of assessment and referral for the purposes of gender-affirming medical care (such as hormones, surgery, and other procedures). As changes in recent transgender health care and insurance coverage have provided increased access for a broader range of consumers, it is essential to understand transgender and gender nonconforming clients’ different needs. This book provides practical exercises and skills you can use to help TNGC clients thrive. Sand C. Chang, PhD, is a Chinese American nonbinary psychologist and trainer. They are the clinical practice consultant for Kaiser Permanente Northern California Transgender Services. They also have a private practice in Oakland, CA, specializing in trauma/EMDR, addictions, and eating disorders. Sand served on the task force that authored the 2015 APA Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients, and is past chair of the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (CSOGD). Outside of their professional work, Sand is a dancer, avid foodie, and pug enthusiast. Anneliese A. Singh, PhD, LPC, is a professor and associate dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the college of education at the University of Georgia. Singh is cofounder of the Georgia Safe Schools Coalition to work on reducing heterosexism, transprejudice, racism, and other oppressions in Georgia schools. She is also cofounder of the Trans Resilience Project, where she translated her findings from fifteen years of research on trans people’s resilience to oppression into practice and advocacy efforts. She is author of The Queer and Transgender Resilience Workbook. She’s delivered widely viewed TedX Talks, and recorded a podcast for APA on her research with transgender youth and resilience. lore m. dickey, PhD, is a behavioral health consultant at North Country HealthCare in Bullhead City, AZ. He has a long history of LGBTQ advocacy and social justice work, and has presented throughout the world on trans-affirmative practice with gender-diverse people. His research and clinical work focus on addressing the needs of gender-diverse individuals. After working for several years in academia, lore recently took on a job working in an integrated behavioral health care setting. lore is the founder of My Bandana Project which is a suicide prevention intervention for transgender people. “Packed with a wealth of case studies, historical facts, and actionable recommendations, A Clinician’s Guide to Gender-Affirming Care is a powerful actualization of the authors’ commitments to creating trans justice. Chang, Singh, and dickey go beyond simply compiling information to create a compelling, deeply empathetic, and effective resource that bridges the gap between helping professionals and the trans communities they serve. A must-read for all aspiring trans allies and coconspirators!” —Lily Zheng, diversity consultant, and coauthor of Gender Ambiguity in the Workplace