Written by Parker Pothier
Gender-affirming therapy can be described as therapeutic work done between a client and their therapist that affirms and validates their experience with their gender. Gender-affirming therapy can benefit all people, whether or not they align with their sex assigned at birth.
In a lot of ways, gender-affirming therapy is not that much different from any other variety of therapy. The client and their therapist will work together to discuss their presenting problems, create goals, build strengths, and process challenging events in life. When we approach difficulties through a gender-affirming lens, we are able to support clients to also process the ways in which their gender identity plays a role in their lives.
Clients who reach out seeking gender-affirming services are sometimes questioning their gender identity and want support to work out their thoughts and feelings. Other times, clients already know that they don’t align with their sex assigned at birth, and want their therapist to have a thorough understanding of how gender identity intersects with other aspects of their life. For transgender or gender-diverse clients, having a therapist who provides gender-affirming care is essential, and in many cases, life-saving! A gender-affirming therapist can help transgender clients with all elements of their transition, including (but not limited to) preparation for coming out, preparation for medical procedures and/or hormone replacement therapy, learning coping mechanisms to manage gender dysphoria, and navigating relationships.
Gender-affirming therapy is not reserved for transgender people and can also benefit people who do identify with their sex assigned at birth. For someone who feels like their gender identity does align with their sex assigned at birth, exploring gender in therapy can help them see how concepts like womanhood and manhood have impacted their lives. They can explore what the gender roles have been in their families, what they want their gender roles to look like going forward, and how to explore masculinity and femininity in their gender expression.
At One Tree, all of our clinicians provide gender-affirming care and engage in continuing education to learn more about treating issues faced by the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
