Gender Identity and Faith: Clinical Postures, Tools, and Case Studies for Client-Centered Care
Helping people navigate gender identity questions today is complex and often polarized work. For clients and families who are also informed by their faith, some mental health approaches raise more questions than answers. Clinicians need a client-centered, open-ended approach that makes room for gender exploration while respecting religious identity. Gender Identity and Faith carves out clinical space for mental health professionals to help people who wish to take seriously their gender identity, their religious identity, and the relationship between the two. Drawing from their extensive research and experience with clients, Mark Yarhouse and Julia Sadusky provide a timely, practical resource for practitioners. This book
- emphasizes respect for clients' journeys, without a single fixed outcome, toward congruence between their gender identity and faith
- describes effective clinical postures, assessment and therapeutic tools, and numerous case studies
- covers needs and characteristics of children, youth, and adult clients
- includes worksheets and prompts for clients and family members
"Integrating personhood and values is no easy feat, especially in our current cultural landscape," the authors write. Those navigating this intersection need clinicians who seek to understand their unique context and journey alongside them with empathy. This book points the way.
Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.
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"Gender Identity and Faith delivers an accessible framework for clinicians working with individuals seeking therapy to better understand and integrate the aspects of their identity related to gender and religion/spirituality. Yarhouse and Sadusky provide specific interventions that can be used with clients, accompanied by numerous case examples to illustrate how to approach this complex topic with nuance and cultural humility. Given that many clients seeking therapy for gender-related needs also have a faith background that impacts their sense of self, this book is an essential read for all mental health providers working with gender diverse and transgender individuals."
Laura Edwards-Leeper, chair of the child and adolescent committee of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and member of the child and adolescent groups revising the standards of care for transgender persons
"Too often, we who counsel and coach other persons erroneously believe our job is to offer solutions to the complex overlap of philosophy, religion, and gender identity. Using multiple worksheets, Gender Identity and Faith greatly helps religious and nonreligious counselors and coaches to come alongside the transgender-presenting client and, by offering questions, to assist the client in exploring their amazing inner worlds."
Caryn LeMur, a male-to-female transsexual and a follower of the words and life of Jesus
