Gender-Affirming Medical and Surgical Treatment for Therapists
Presented by Cadyn Cathers, PsyD, MBA
Sold Out
This course will NOT be recorded or available for homestudy.
This course will be capped at 24 participants. Participants are expected to participate and engage on zoom in order to enhance learning for all.
Abstract
Gender-affirming medical and surgical treatment (GAMST) includes everything from hormones to hair removal to surgery. GAMST can be one of the ways that TGNB people align their gender or gender expression in social, sexual, or bodily dimensions of gender. GAMST offers psychotherapists a unique opportunity to support their TGNB clients. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) published the latest version of their standards of care for the health of transgender and gender diverse people (SOC-8) which provides guidelines for supporting TGNB clients with GAMST.
This 5-week course will discuss the impact of GAMST on psychological and physical well-being to help psychotherapists assist clients with medical transition for adolescent and adult clients. The first week, we will cover non-medical transition, hormones, and hormone blockers within the first week, including how to work with youth and their families navigating medical transition. Non-medical transition includes, but is not limited to, binding, tucking, voice therapy, and hair removal. The next two weeks we will cover masculinizing and feminizing surgeries/procedures, respectively. We will focus on adults these weeks as surgery is uncommon with adolescents. We will cover details about the pre-operative care, surgery and recovery in order to help psychotherapists understand the experiences to help clients have realistic expectations of their GAMST. We will cover impacts of GAMST on sexuality, reproduction, and mental health. The fourth week will cover WPATH SOC 8 as it applies to assessment or evaluation for GAMST, assessing for informed consent, and letter writing. We will briefly discuss the importance of addressing mental health symptoms that may impact capacity for consent. Additionally, we will discuss negative transference that may arise with letter writing and how it impacts the working alliance. During the final week, we will cover how to help clients prepare psychologically for GAMST, including managing medical anxiety, fears about motivation for GAMST, navigating ambivalence, addressing dependency needs, and building resilience in order to minimize pain.
Content warning: This workshop includes graphic material related to surgery.
Learning objectives
Day 1: May 23, 2024 : Non-Medical Transition, Hormones & Hormone Blockers
- Describe at least 2 methods of non-medical transition
- Describe at least 3 changes to expect from hormones or hormone blockers
- Discuss risks/benefits to parents of TGNB youth seeking hormones or hormone blockers
Day 2: May 30, 2024: Masculinizing Surgeries & Procedures
- Describe at least 2 gender-affirming medical or surgical treatments to masculinize the body
- Describe post operative care for at least 2 gender-affirming surgeries
- Discuss differences of metoidioplasty and phalloplasty
Day 3: Jun 6, 2024: Feminizing Surgeries & Procedures
- Describe at least 2 gender-affirming medical or surgical treatments to feminize the body
- Describe post operative care for at least 2 gender-affirming surgeries
- Discuss differences of vaginoplasty and zero depth vaginoplasty
Day 4: Jun 13, 2024: WPATH SOC 8, Informed Consent & Letter Writing
- Discuss at least 3 of the WPATH SOC 8 guidelines for mental health professionals
- Explicitly assess for capacity for informed consent for GAMST
- Write a letter for gender-affirming medical and surgical treatment using WPATH SOC 8 recommendations
Day 5: Jun 20, 2024: Psychological & Social Preparation for GAMST
- Describe at least 3 ways in which psychotherapists can help clients mentally prepare for surgery
- Describe how dependence needs can manifest during surgical recovery
- Describe how building emotional resilience can minimize pain during surgical recovery
Certificates will be sent at the end of the course for only weeks that participants attended.
About the Presenter
Cadyn Cathers, PsyD, MBA (he/him/his) has been teaching courses on human sexuality, psychotherapy with LGBTQIA+ communities, and psychodynamic theory for over 10 years. He is the founder and CEO of The Affirmative Couch, which provides online continuing education on clinical work with LGBTQIA+, CNM, and kink communities. He is a licensed psychologist in private practice at the Out Couch Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, P.C., where he focuses on psychoanalytic psychotherapy with transgender and nonbinary patients.
$199 for licensed clinicians
$179 for licensed in non-profit organization (Use coupon code at checkout: GAMSTNP)
$159 for pre-licensed (Use Coupon Code at checkout: GAMSTPL)
This course is included in the annual and lifetime memberships.
Registration closes May 22, 2024 at midnight PST. Annual and lifetime members must register by emailing us in advance in order to attend.
Additional Information
Instruction Level
This course is meant for an intermediate to advanced audience.
Who should Attend
Psychologists, counselors, and marriage and family therapists and social workers.
Format
Live, virtual presentation with the opportunity for interaction with the presenter.
Zoom Link
You will receive a reminder email to register for your Zoom link after signing up for the course.
If you do not receive this email within 24 hours, please contact us.
Completion Requirements
Live Event
- To get CE credit for the live event, you need to be present for the entire course.
- You will be asked to sign in and out in the chat box in order to track attendance during breaks.
- We will email you your certificate of attendance with up to 10 CEs for full course attendance.
Financial Support
The Affirmative Couch pays course presenters for their teaching. There is no other financial support for this course.
Conflict of Interest
There is no reported conflict of interest or outside commercial support for this course.
Contact Information
For any inquiries related to subject matter, problem resolution, corrections, grievances, or anything else, please contact us.
Accommodations
The Affirmative Couch will work to accommodate reasonable accommodations requests. Requests can be emailed with “accommodation request” in the subject line. Requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Continuing Education Approvals
The Affirmative Couch, LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Affirmative Couch, LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
$199 for licensed clinicians
$179 for licensed in non-profit organization (Use coupon code at checkout: GAMSTNP)
$159 for pre-licensed (Use Coupon Code at checkout: GAMSTPL)
This course is included in the annual and lifetime memberships.
Registration closes May 22, 2024 at midnight PST. Annual and lifetime members must register by emailing us in advance in order to attend.
$199.00
Out of stock
