For decades, gender-diverse clients were considered “specialty” clients.
Therapists thought transgender or non-binary people had needs they couldn’t provide for or relate to.
And the truth is, most therapists didn’t have any training to understand gender diversity.
Sarah Burgamy, our resident gender diversity and gender-affirmative care expert, wasn’t trained on gender diversity when she started out, either. She did what most therapists interested in gender-diverse folks did: she read some articles and cobbled together a few standards of care and practice guidelines.
But then, she did something extra… she looked up the WPATH guidelines that were available and studied them (WPATH is the World Professional Association for Transgender Health).
Then, when her first gender-diverse client walked through the door, she was prepared. You can be, too. Read for this important overview of the basics that you need to get current with in order to give good, gender-affirmative care to your diverse psychotherapy clients.
JOIN a FREE WEBINAR TRAINING with Sarah Burgamy, Psy.D
Everything You Wanted To Know about Gender-Competence But Were Afraid to Ask!
During this webinar, you will learn:
The ethical imperative of gender-inclusive mental health care
Gender identity as a global human phenomenon
The rising mental health needs of gender-questioning, gender-expansive people
Understanding the crucial mental health needs of gender-diverse children and adolescents and their caregivers
Three things every therapist should know when working with gender-diverse Therapy Clients
1. Know the latest diagnostic guidelines, Standards of Care, and practice guidelines.
So much has changed! To provide responsible and respectful care for all your clients, it is important to get current on how people of diverse gender identities should be diagnosed and cared for in your private clinical practice, and in mental health care environments in general.
2. Know and use correct terminology when serving gender-diverse clients, or any client regardless of their expressed gender
Get clear on current terms and labels to avoid embarrassing yourself or inadvertently causing harm to your clients. This simple act of responsibility, compassion, and empathy will go a long way is supporting those who come to you for care, as well as helping you to feel comfortable and confident when working with LGBTQA+ clients, including transgendered or nonbinary persons.
3. Be aware about statistics on risks and trends, as well as what causes them.
Being part of the solution starts with understanding the problem. Do you know what the current rate of homelessness is for transgendered and nonbinary youth? Do you know how housing instability impacts LBGTQA+ mental health? What about the high occurence of domestic violence, homecide, and suicide, and why this is growing? The more you know, the better you can serve your clients.
Everyone needs to be a gender specialist now, so that there are no barriers to care. Together with Sarah Burgamy, Psy.D, we´re offering an impactful professional development course designed for all mental health professionals to bring you up to speed and support you to be the best therapist you can be.
Praise for Dr. Burgamy and her Therapy Wisdom trainings on gender and sexuality. Read what her past students have to say:
“As a clinical psychologist, I found Dr. Burgamy’s course on Gender Identity an invaluable source of knowledge. Immediately, I noticed I was more open to talking with clients about sexual orientation and gender identity, and had the correct terms to use. I was noticeably more confident in talking with parents of clients about gender and had a basic knowledge of the process of transitioning. I also enjoyed the support and validation of the training, as Dr. Burgamy was open to questions and discussion. Overall, I’m extremely happy I took the course and will use Dr. Burgamy as an expert resource in the future.” — Christine DeVore, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist, Denver, CO
“Sarah is hilarious, brilliant, and engaging. Sarah’s presentation blew me away, not just because of the content, but also because of Sarah’s use of self as a clinician. Sarah’s authentic self and presence gives so many others permission to be who they truly are. I so admire this Clinician!!” —Bradley Jackson, MSW, Director of Counseling at an independent school
“Dr. Burgamy is an engaging and effective teacher. Her presentations include a dynamic mix of humor, storytelling, research evidence, and clinical pearls that translate into pragmatic information that can be used immediately in your professional activities. I highly recommend taking her trainings which you will find to be highly entertaining and educational.” —Jenna Glover, Ph.D., Director of Psychology Training at Children’s Hospital Colorado
“I have attended multiple trainings and professional presentations facilitated by Dr. Sarah Burgamy, and I have always been thoroughly impressed, not only by her obvious and expansive clinical expertise, but also by her ability to make topics and subject matter that are often complex, challenging, academic, and/or intimidating to discuss, very easy to grasp, and fun to learn! Dr. Burgamy has a teaching style that is warm, engaging, humble, entertaining, and down-to-earth, yet one can’t help but be blown away by her deep content knowledge and skill. She is confident yet gracious, and you can attend one of her presentations knowing she is providing the most current, relevant, ethical, and evidence-based information available. I highly recommend any opportunity to learn from Dr. Burgamy.” —Athena Y. Baca-Chieza, Psy.D.
“They are experts in their field, bring compassion even as they may challenge old ways of thinking, and expand what is possible in a community’s ability to support and care for one another. Dr. Sarah Burgamy has been such a person…
…[She has reminded] us that we can provide “invitations to brave space,”… and that when someone comes out (about a gender identity or sexual orientation) it is a precious gift of trust.
Dr.Burgamy’s message is that a critical component of growing and becoming is having brave spaces for all students to figure out who they are so they feel happy and healthy.” — Bryna S. Cunningham, MSW, LCSW, Middle School Counselor, Dawson School
