Working Towards A Greater Understanding
A POST-WORKSHOP SUMMARY
This past Saturday, September 14th, 2019, Gender Wellness of Los Angeles (GWLA), along with our host, The Insight Center, co-sponsored a workshop titled “Transgender and Gender-Fluid Clients: What Therapists Need to Know.” GWLA Director Casey Weitzman, M.A., L.M.F.T. and Grace O’Connor, M.A., A.M.F.T. (seen in the photo above) led a day-long program of highly interactive discussion attended by fellow mental health clinicians — an effort to improve our collective skills in working with the Transgender and Transgender nonconforming population.
Among the many topics discussed:
- Working with Transgender Youth
- Risk factors and higher incidence of suicide within the Trans* population
- Myths & misstatements
- Cultures with more than one gender
- Medical Care/Surgery options/Standards of Care
It was a wonderful day — we were very pleased with the turnout. At the end, we asked the participants, many of whom do not regularly work with Trans* folks, if they thought they would be able to work with a client or a family member that was Transgender or gender non-conforming — and many of them said yes.
We’d like to graciously thank all those that attended and, of course, our host and co-sponsor, Michael Shiffman from The Insight Center.
— GWLA