Skip to main content
ABCT 2023 Annual Convention Main banner
Final Program


Program Flipbook
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
Ticketed Session
Ticketed Session
Recorded Session
Recorded Session
Back
Evaluation ViewAttendees 7

Panel Discussions

LGBTQ+

Panel Discussion 31 - Joy as Resistance, Joy as Resilience: Strategies for Thriving as Transgender and Gender Diverse Professionals

Sunday, November 19, 2023
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM PST
Location: Nooksack (602), Level 6
Earn 1.5 Credit
Keywords: LGBTQ+, Resilience, Professional Issues
Recommended Readings: Matsuno, E., & Israel, T. (2018). Psychological interventions promoting resilience among transgender individuals: Transgender resilience intervention model (TRIM). The Counseling Psychologist, 46 (5), 632-655.,   Hendricks, M. L., & Testa, R. J. (2012). A conceptual framework for clinical work with transgender and gender nonconforming clients: An adaptation of the minority stress model. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 43, 460–467. doi:10.1037/a0029597,   Knutson, D., Matsuno, E., Goldbach, C., Hashtpari, H., & Smith, N. G. (2022). Advocating for transgender and nonbinary affirmative spaces in graduate education. Higher Education, 83 (2), 461-479.,   ,  
Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals enrich clinical, academic, and communal spaces with expansive understandings of gender, relationship, and identity. At the same time, existing as a TGD person in such spaces can be taxing. TGD professionals and trainees navigate work within a context of societal rhetoric, structures, and legislation that label us as deceitful, dangerous, or confused, and that seek to limit our expression and existence (James et al., 2016; Tebbe et al., 2021). This experience of minority stress is related to, yet distinct from, that of sexual minorities (Hendricks & Testa, 2012). Transgender minority stress places TGD professionals at greater risk for burnout, and discourages trainees from entering or staying within the field (e.g. Goldberg et al., 2019). In the midst of these challenges, we uplift what our communities have long known about the role of trans joy – that positive experiences of support, belonging, and affirmation can bolster our resilience and create new paths forward.
This panel brings together a diverse group of TGD researchers, supervisors, clinicians, and trainees to explore strategies for combatting the stigma, stress, and systemic barriers we face within our field. We will ask panelists to consider how we can cultivate joy as TGD people in a variety of ways including community-building, advocacy, mentorship, and allyship. The panel will approach these questions through the lenses of both lived experience and research, and will structure the discussion using components of Matsuno and Israel’s (2018) Transgender Resilience Intervention model (TRIM): social support, community belonging, participating in activism, having role models, and being a role model.  The panel will also include recommendations regarding effective allyship and strategies for materially supporting TGD colleagues, supervisees, and mentees.  We will conclude by soliciting questions from the audience to facilitate a collaborative community atmosphere.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, the learner will be able to:
  • Describe the TRIM model and its applications to TGD people navigating the field.
  • Identify 5 strategies for cultivating resilience and preventing burnout within the professional sphere as a TGD person.
  • Identify 3 strategies for cisgender allies to increase inclusivity of TGD people and dismantle systemic barriers within the field.
  • Evaluate their team or institution’s current resources for supporting the resilience of TGD individuals.
  • Create opportunities for community support of TGD individuals, including effective mentorship of TGD trainees and early-career professionals.