Becoming a Gender Specialist: Issues in Assisting Transgender Individuals in Their Transitions
Sunday, Aug 29 2010
Michael Riddle-Crilly 11:50 pm
http://musicboys.wordpress.com/2010/08/29/becoming-a-gender-specialist-issues-in-assisting-transgender-individuals-in-their-transitions/Gender Specialists are trained professionals, paraprofessionals, or peer-support care providers who are trained to work with the transgender population in the mental health field. These specialists need to understand not only the psychosocial and psychiatric aspects, but also the various steps, processes and issues (i.e. physical, medical, and economic) that arise for the transgender client. It is important that not only Gender Specialists and transgender individuals understand the complete transition process, but every engaged mental health counselor that works with a transgender client needs to be aware of the progression as well. Each step has procedures that need to take place; this includes the assessment process, pre-operative counseling, hormone therapy, the life-test, gender reassignment surgery, and post-operative care. These are the key methods that the transgender client will go through in their transition development and according to the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association; they require the help of a counselor to attain nearly all of this process.
Introduction
With the emergence of numerous psychological concerns in therapy over the years, one may perhaps suggest that counseling the transgender individual is even more of a challenge than perhaps any other concern in this field of study. In order to understand the transgender individual and their mental health requests, a therapist should not only concern themselves with the various matters that could arise in the counseling sessions, but they should conduct an in-depth assessment of who transgendered individual is as a human being and what concerns they may have with their identity.
