Transgender & Gender Non-Binary (TGNB) Clients: Clinical Issues and Treatment Strategies

CPD

Planning Committee Disclosure - No relevant relationships

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

Handouts

Speaker

Susan Radzilowski, LMSW-C, ACSW Related seminars and products

---

Susan Radzilowski, LMSW-C, ACSW, has practiced in mental health and educational environments for over 30 years. Susan holds a certificate in gender identity and clinical concerns. Susan was the founding co-chair of GLSEN SE Michigan and is a past member of the GLSEN National Advisory Committee. She has been a member of the NASW-Michigan Chapter Ethics Committee since 2010. Susan has published several articles on clinical and ethical issues of providing social work services to the transgender youth. Susan has a private practice in Michigan and is a part time faculty in the School of Social Work at The University of Michigan and at Wayne State University. She consults and trains on issues related to working with transgender youth for the Michigan Dept of Health and Human Services, the NASW, Michigan State University, Michigan Medicine, Wayne, The University of Michigan and with local school districts. Susan is the parent of a transgender adult who came out in 2005, at age 15. Her experience as a parent of a trans youth inspired her to shift her professional focus to working with transgender youth and facilities and training professionals to improve access to competent, compassionate care.  

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Susan Radzilowski maintains a private practice and has employment relationships with Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan School of Social Work, and the Wayne State University School of Social Work. She receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties, and consulting fee from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Susan Radzilowski serves on the NASW Michigan Chapter Ethics Committee (CEC).

Objectives

1. Appraise the complexities that transgender clients face daily including physical, mental, and social discomfort and how to address these in clinical practice.
2. Develop a deep comprehension of the ways that a client’s own identity can create a trusting, effective relationship, and how their identity can negatively affect the clinical relationship.
3. Apply concepts of affirmative clinical practice with gender diverse clients.
4. Appraise the various gender diverse identifies and analyze the ways that intersecting identities create further challenges in daily life.
5. Assess your current clinical practice to determine how affirmative your practice is for gender diverse clients.
6. Create a transition timeline and goals with your client.
7. Prepare letters for clients seeking feminizing and masculinizing hormone therapy and gender confirmation surgeries.

Outline

• Ethical responsibilities
• Clinical application of affirmative practice
• Work with clients across the lifespan
  • Children
  • Adolescents
  • Emerging adults
  • Older adults
  • Elements of support for transition care

• Coming out
• Transition experiences (e.g., social, medical, and legal)
• Diagnosis
• Historical perspectives
• Current conceptions of gender diversity
• Challenges with keeping up with identity labels

• Intersecting identities
• Discrimination and violence
• Clients seeking asylum
• Clinical concerns
  • Trauma
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Substance abuse
  • Suicidal ideation
• Family considerations
  • Parenting
  • Adoption
  • Value of support
  • Legal concerns

• Why is this important
• What is involved in this process
• How does a clinician integrate this information into their practice?

• What aspects of one’s practice need to be assessed
• Simple ways to address practice short comings

• Best practice for addressing clinical concerns with assessment
• How to complete assessments that require binary sex indicators
• The purpose of assessment in clinical practice with clients
• Challenges with personality assessments

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Case Managers
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Nurses
• Physicians
• Addiction Counselors
• Other Mental Health Professionals

Reviews