"As healers, we are taking on a major responsibility when we devote ourselves to helping others. It can be such an enormous gift, but it's profoundly important that we fill our souls with the best tools to meet our clients' needs. It's time for a paradigm shift, and this book provides a path to freedom from the shackles of transphobia that will revolutionize your healing practice."
--Danielle Castro, MA, MFT, research director at the Center of Excellence for Transgender Health, and the Division of Prevention Science at University of California, San Francisco--Danielle Castro, MA, MFT
"Chang, Singh, and dickey have created the essential guide for clinicians who want to dive deeper into developing and expanding their skills for affirmative gender-related care. It is practical, comprehensive, and reminds providers that competent gender-related work begins with the clinician's personal examination of their gender socialization. Experiential activities guide clinicians to dive deeper into their own socialization as they develop their clinical knowledge of gender-related and transition care. A Clinician's Guide to Gender-Affirming Care is a necessary reference for all mental health providers."
--julie graham, MFT, nationally recognized specialist in gender health care; consultant on gender-related healthcare and trauma issues for gender and sexual minorities; director of Gender Health SF--julie graham, MFT
"One of the biggest challenges to offering competent care and support to trans and other gender-diverse people is society's tendency to assume that a singular gender narrative exists. Academic research, professional association guidelines, media stories, and standards of care have too often been crafted from the individual experiences of too few. How deeply refreshing it is to find a resource that gently, persistently encourages the clinician to consider an individual's gender pathway within an ever-widening context of individuality, family, culture, and systems. A Clinician's Guide to Gender-Affirming Care supports the clinician in considering not only the intersecting identities of their patient--their age, sexuality, race, faith, and more--but for the clinician to factor themselves into the equation. This guide provides many illustrative examples of complex people in an easy-to-read format that will surely make this text a dog-eared, must-have in any clinician's practice."
--Aidan Key, K-12 gender education specialist, author, national speaker, and director of the parent support organization Gender Diversity--Aidan Key
"Packed with a wealth of case studies, historical facts, and actionable recommendations, A Clinician's Guide to Gender-Affirming Care is a powerful actualization of the authors' commitments to creating trans justice. Chang, Singh, and dickey go beyond simply compiling information to create a compelling, deeply empathetic, and effective resource that bridges the gap between helping professionals and the trans communities they serve. A must-read for all aspiring trans allies and coconspirators!"
--Lily Zheng, diversity consultant, and coauthor of Gender Ambiguity in the Workplace--Lily Zheng
"This unprecedented resource for clinicians and service providers seeking to deepen their analysis of gender and capacity to provide care to trans people is accessible, reflective, complex, thorough, and practical. A Clinician's Guide to Gender-Affirming Care situates trans mental health care in a sociopolitical context requiring practitioners to contend with the medical and mental health systems' ability to perniciously perpetuate structural violence. Finally, a comprehensive resource that gives clinicians a road map to be in deep solidarity with trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people who deserve access to care rooted in dignity and justice."
--Erica Woodland, MSW, LCSW, healing justice practitioner, psychotherapist, consultant, and founding director of the National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network--Erica Woodland, MSW, LCSW