Counseling in a Gender-Expansive World

Transgender and gender expansive people are increasingly becoming the focus of media, politics, and of public conversation. With this increased attention comes greater visibility and counselors are now, more than ever, likely to clinically engage with openly transgender or gender expansive clients during their careers. This is in spite of the fact that many counselors have not received specific training in skills, knowledge, and awareness necessary to provide affirming, informed care for these populations. In this book, the authors provide practical, real-life suggestions and interventions to help therapists, supervisors, and trainees increase in their competence and confidence in working with transgender and gender expansive clients. The resources provided here are informed by evidence-based practice, scholarship on intersectionality, and by social justice and advocacy movements. This book is a useful supplement to clinical work with transgender and gender expansive people, especially for the many clinicians who work in regions with limited transgender-specific resources. In this book, readers can expect to find resources for: Exploration of gender identities (for personal growth, with clients, and in supervision) Understanding how privilege and oppression relate to gender identity and expression Providing supervision to counselors working with transgender and gender expansive (TGE) clients Understanding diverse and intersectional TGE identities Ethical issues when working with TGE people Worksheets and interventions that can be used to support TGE clients Finding regional resources to support TGE clients through diverse social and medical transition processes How finances affect transition for some transgender clients Developing a plan to work with TGE clients in both rural and urban regions Examples of letters of recommendation, carry letters, and how to develop a resource list How practitioners can market their practice to TGE clients Recommendations for those working with TGE clients in schools, college counseling centers, and other settings