Understanding and Serving Multi-Faceted Gender Identities

Target Audience: Health providers (or future health providers/students) of all kinds including mental, medical, alternative, holistic, and behavioral.Description: Binary concepts of gender in the United States are an ingrained societal norm that leads healthcare professions to often be unable to “see” transgender and non-binary patients as a normal and integrated category, which can lead to 'othering', segregation, disrespect, discrimination, hesitation, fear, and a lack of knowledge. But transgender individuals should not be invisible or an afterthought. Increasing behavioral and medical healthcare providers’ competence with transgender patients will lead to better healthcare outcomes such as reduced medical mistrust in this population, improved mental health and safety, and reduced medical stigma. In this seminar, lead by a transgender LCSW, we will discuss how providers can best serve gender diverse populations. This workshop is designed for medical, mental, behavioral, or holistic healthcare providers. We start with the basics (terminology and gender theory) and then move to an exploration of gender diversity within a societal context. This workshop centers the experiences of gender diverse individuals and you will learn to experience healthcare settings and interactions through their eyes. You will learn strategies to welcome gender diverse patients and clients, understand their lived experience better, and create space for these individuals in your practice setting.Length & Format: Available virtually or in-person at lengths between 90 minutes and 3 hours. Many organizations choose to break up this seminar into 3 one-hour sections.Learning Objectives:
1. Learn alternative conceptual models for concepts of self relating to gender, gender identity, gender expression, sex assigned at birth, and biological sex. Be able to define these terms and how identities are constructed by them.
2. Learn about the variety of transition types: social, psychological, legal, and physical as well as barriers to transition.
3. Review statistics of oppression for gender diverse individuals and generate a basis of knowledge around the lived experience of gender diverse patients/clients.
4. Understand the roots of stigma, discrimination, and medical mistrust among this population.
5. Practice skills related to improving health equity and access for gender diversity people including: combating microaggressions, dismantling the bystander effect, demonstrating respect for gender diverse patients/clients, and creating spaces and organizations that are welcoming.

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Mutual Aid as a Cornerstone of LGBTQ+ Health

Target Audience: Anyone!Description: Mutual Aid is the practice of voluntarily caring for others and exchanging care in ways that reciprocally benefit all parties involved. From the AIDS Crisis to modern-day mutual aid Facebook groups, LGBTQ+ communities have been at the forefront of mutual aid movements for decades. LGBTQ+ mutual aid practices move beyond traditional healthcare systems to foster resilience by creating networks of safety, care, and health at a community and individual level. Though mutual aid networks are often born of necessity and scarcity, they generate abundance, stimulate health, and encourage equity. Can we learn any lessons from the mutual aid movement about how to center equity in LGBTQ+ healthcare? When we view the world through a lens of mutual aid, what do we see? We will explore these questions and more through historical and modern examples of mutual aid within the LGBTQ+ community as well as touch on mutual aid and reciprocity theories (especially in relation to equity, intersectionality, and health).Length & Format: Available virtually or in-person. 60 minutesLearning Objectives:
1. Define mutual aid and name its benefits for individuals and populations.
2. Identify ways in which historical oppression has affected modern-day LGBTQ+ communities.
3. Describe pros and cons of the practice of mutual aid.
4. Analyze and explore how mutual aid practices can change our work within our various fields of practice.
5. Define the role of mutual aid within marginalized communities and what gaps it fills.

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Generating Clinical Empathy for Gender Diverse Clients

Target Audience: Mental and behavioral health providers (or future providers/students).Description: This workshop offers an exploration of some of the complex dynamics providers encounter when working with transgender and non-binary individuals. Therapists sometimes struggle to engage with clients who are different from themselves, but gender diverse clients can feel especially daunting. How can we walk a mile in someone’s shoes when we don’t know the road they’re on? How can we set aside feelings of overwhelming guilt, grief, or pity? This workshop will provide strategies to help clinicians build stronger connections with gender diverse clients and explores common barriers to generating appropriate, respectful clinical empathy. Ultimately, this workshop aims to provide clinicians with the tools and knowledge necessary to provide high-quality care for gender diverse clients, furthering the progress towards greater equity and inclusivity in mental healthcare. We will cover topics such as: the definition and importance of clinical empathy, the dangers of sympathy and its role in countertransference, the statistical and sociocultural reality of living as a gender diverse person, cisnormative and therapeutic privilege, common empathy challenges, and solutions as well as practice exercises.Length & Format: Available virtually or in-person. 60+ minutes.Learning Objectives:
1.Define clinical empathy and it’s role in therapeutic relationships and client outcomes.
2. Describe the current statistical and sociocultural reality of life as a gender diverse person.
3. Recognize the role of privilege in relation to the oppression of gender diverse individuals.
4. Demonstrate ability to utilize two or more clinical empathy strengthening exercises or techniques.
5. Analyze one's personal biases, privileges, and context in relation to clinical empathy and gender diverse clients.

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Fundamentals of Trauma-Informed Leadership

Target Audience: Business leaders, organizations, executives, managers, startups, and consultantsDescription: Get in on the ground floor by learning the fundamentals of Trauma-Informed Leadership. Trauma-Informed Leadership is the next generation of management philosophies and creates resilient, productive, and healthy workplaces, businesses and organizations. It's estimated that 70-80% of the population has experienced trauma at least once in their lives and this rate increases for urban populations as well as marginalized groups. As our companies and organizations become more diverse, we increase the chance of working with employees, clients, and customers with trauma backgrounds. This workshop will cover the fundamentals of trauma-informed leadership philosophy with guiding principles to aim for and give you the basic tools you need to start the conversation at your place of work. In order to have a healthy and productive workforce that is resilient enough to produce long-term growth, we must build workplace cultures that support and create space for people of all experiences, including traumatic experiences.Length & Format: Available virtually or in-person. 60-90 minutes.Learning Objectives:
1. Define the five philosophical pillars of trauma-informed leadership.
2. Name at least 3 warning signs that an organization/company is carrying a traumatic load.
3. Describe the current state of trauma experiences at a population level with relevant statistics.
4. Analyze how trauma-informed workplace cultures can boost overall growth, wellbeing, and productivity.
5. Demonstrate ability to utilize at least 1 method to increase awareness about trauma-informed leadership at your place of work.

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Transition Journaling

Target Audience: Trans & non-binary people of all ages, therapists, mental/behavioral health providers, people who work with trans youth & young adults, parents of gender diverse kidsDescription: Transition journaling is the act of keeping a diary or journal of one's gender transition process. It can be a powerful reflective practice as well as a useful organizing tool. Transition journals can contain art, information, mementos, music, files, medical contact numbers, research, fundraising trackers, wardrobe inspiration, hair cut ideas, experimentations with names and pronouns, coming out practice letters, and so much more. In this workshop, we'll talk about what a transition journal is (or can be), how to get started in creating one, and we will even take the first steps by doing a creative exercise together! People of all ages and genders will get a chance to make a collage of how their gender feels to them and to share it with other participants. You'll also be able to take home a sample transition journal printout with some ideas to get your started.Length & Format: Available in-person only. 90+ minutes.Learning Objectives:
1. Define transition journaling.
2. Name at least 5 ways transition journaling can be an aid during the transition process.
3. Name at least 5 things that can go into a transition journal.
4. Reflect on one's own personal gender identity in a creative and artistic way.
5. Recognize and reflect on the array of gender identities and expressions that are present in the space.

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Introduction to Liberation Health

Target Audience: Health providers (or future health providers/students) of all kinds including mental, medical, alternative, holistic, and behavioral.Description: Liberation Health is a framework that understands human behavior and health in the context of our broader social environment. Our health is greatly impacted by the political, historic, ecological, cultural, and economic contexts around us, something Liberation Health aims to bring to the forefront. As a model of human behavior, the Liberation Health Model empowers healthcare providers to combat oppression by considering the patient’s context alongside their symptoms when developing treatment plans. In this course, we’ll learn about the Liberation Health Model, including the Liberation Health Triangle, and how to use it to expand our thinking as providers. We will also discuss a number of case studies and situational examples.Length & Format: Available virtually or in person. 60-90 minutes.Learning Objectives:
1. Define the Liberation Health Model and name at least 3 strengths of utilizing this model.
2. Utilize the Liberation Health Triangle to assess patient concerns in case studies.
3. Describe 3 situations where the Liberation Health Model is helpful and 3 where it is unhelpful.
4. Articulate the use of the Liberation Health Model in terms patients can understand.

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Transition in the Workplace

Target Audience: Corporations, organizations, companies, businesses, HR professionals, leaders, and employeesDescription: Supporting employees or colleagues during a transition can be a complex and nerve-wracking process. How do you tell the department about a name and pronoun change? What can you expect your colleague to look or sound like? What kind of leave will they need to take for medical care? Employees and organizations can often struggle with the adjustment process that occurs when someone transitions and to make it more challenging, the transitioning employee is often also nervous and on-edge. In this workshop we will cover best practices for managing transitions in the workplace as well as talk about what transitions typically entail and how to prepare yourself and your coworkers. We'll talk about the do's and don'ts of workplace transitions as well as strategies to make your organization transition-friendly and resilient.Length & Format: Available virtually or in person. 60-90 minutes.Learning Objectives:
1. Define the gender transition process and it's four stages.
2. Describe 3 or more best practices for managing a transition in the workplace.
3. Utilize microintervention strategies to address microaggressions you may witness from colleagues.
4. Articulate strategies to create transition-friendly workplace environment.
5. Generate empathy and respect for colleagues undergoing transition.

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