The AAMFT Blog

The Role of MFTs in the Care of Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth and their Families

 

Join Daran for a webinar on affirmative care with transgender and gender diverse youth on Friday, March 1, from 3:00-4:30pm EST. Hosted by the Queer and Trans Advocacy Network. Register here.

Family support is a vital protective factor for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth who are at high risk for mental health concerns, particularly suicidality. We also know that larger systems like schools and communities are important buffers for young people as they navigate a world that often does not understand or validate their experience. Young people do better when they are allowed to express their authentic selves.  For TGD youth, it can be life-saving.

MFTs play an essential role in the lives of TGD youth. First, MFTs can help young people explore their gender identities and expressions. Gender affirmative therapy assumes that gender diverse expressions and experiences are normal, and therapists should validate, de-stigmatize and support this diversity.

Second, youth often require a letter of support from a therapist for a medical transition, making us gatekeepers in their transition. This means assessing levels of distress, exploring options around gender transition, supporting families, and advocating for the youth in school and community systems. It is important, therefore, for MFT’s to have a deeper understanding of gender identity development, the challenges that TGD youth face along the way, and to adopt an affirmative lens in therapy.

Finally, MFTs are in a unique position to work with families of TGD youth. Families come to therapy at various stages of acceptance and understanding of their child’s gender expressions. MFTs can assess and increase family members’ attunement to the young person’s identity and/or expression. Therapy is a place for families to process their own feelings and learn to accept, protect and support their child. Working with immediate and extended family members often becomes a central part of the therapeutic process.

By affirming gender identity and expression, advocating across multiple systems, and supporting family members, MFTs can help TGD youth live authentically.

 

Daran Shipman is a LMFT, a member of QTAN, and an expert in transgender mental health. Daran has a private practice in Syracuse, NY, where he specializes in working with transgender and gender diverse clients. He also teaches and supervises marriage and family therapy students at Syracuse University and delivers workshops nationally through PESI. Daran has published in peer reviewed journals on working with families of gender diverse youth.  His most recent article on the special considerations for transgender therapists in clinical practice and supervision was published in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.

Opportunity to Present at the Minority Fellowship Program Training Institute

The Minority Fellowship Program would like to invite the submission of workshop/presentation proposal materials for consideration at its upcoming 2019 Training Institute (TI) (May 15-19, 2019). 

The Minority Fellowship Program Training Institutes feature interactive seminars and advanced workshops with distinguished scholars and clinicians in the behavioral health field of marriage and family therapy. MFP Fellows gain an opportunity to learn from, and interact with, presenters in the areas of cultural sensitive interventions with ethnic minority populations, as well as, the integration of advanced quantitative research modalities. The Minority Fellowship Program is a national workforce development program that seeks to- through collaboration with federal agencies like the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and leading behavioral health professional associations like AAMFT- increase the number of culturally competent behavioral health practitioners who provide substance abuse and other mental health services to underserved minority populations. 

Call for Presenters:
If you or someone you know is interested in presenting at the upcoming 2019 TI you are invited to submit a Presenter Information Form. Selected MFP Presenters will have an opportunity to help shape future cohorts of behavioral health services leaders and practitioners, and contribute to the advancement of the marriage and family therapy and wider behavioral health professions.

Apply Here

Student Ethics Competition

Attention MFT students! The time has come to register for the 2019 Student Ethics Competition! The registration form can be found here. Registration is open until March 8, 2019 at 11:59pm eastern.

This competition is designed to encourage MFT students to foster an interest in ethics issues and enhance their ability to analyze and respond to the various ethics issues that they will undoubtedly encounter throughout their careers. In this team competition, as participants, you will submit an essay analyzing and responding to a hypothetical scenario.

There are two categories of the competition: (1) Master’s or Post-Degree Institute (PDI); and (2) PhD. Every member of the team must be in the same category. All team members must be members of AAMFT. For more information on eligibility, visit the official competition website.

For each category of competition, there will be a first, second and third place winning team. Each first place team will receive a cash award of $175, as well as each team member receiving a complementary trip to the 2018 AAMFT Annual Conference in Austin, TX and will be recognized during a keynote speech. For more details on the winners and their awards, visit the official competition website.

Get your team together and register today. If you have questions about the competition, visit the FAQ website, or send an email to [email protected]. We look forward to your participation!

Introducing The AAMFT Podcast

AAMFT’s latest venture coming through your headphones is the AAMFT Podcast! The podcast will delve into the latest news, developments, and interviews with thought leaders in the world of systemic therapy. Hosted by Clinical Fellow Dr. Eli Karam, it will feature conversations and interviews with established experts and pioneers in the field including Sue Johnson, Manijeh Daneshpour, David Schnarch, Harry Aponte, Cloe Madanes, and many more!

 Listen anywhere you are on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or the Google Play podcast apps. Subscribe by clicking these links or searching The AAMFT Podcast through the app.

Episode 1: Sue Johnson, Part 1 is available now

For more information, go to www.aamft.org/podcast.

MFTs in Medicare: Take Action Now!

Bipartisan legislation that would include licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs), as well as licensed mental health counselors (LMHCs), as Medicare Part B eligible providers has just been introduced in both chambers of the 116^th Congress. If you haven’t already, please contact your Members of Congress and ask them to support MFTs in Medicare.

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Rep. John Katko (R-NY), and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced the Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2019 in the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 945, and in the U.S. Senate as S. 286. These bills are identical to those introduced during the last Congress (115^th), which would have added LMFTs and LMHCs as Medicare Part B providers if it had passed. Bills that have failed in one Congress can be reintroduced once a new Congress convenes.

The introduction of both bills by the end of January gives us more time to increase support for MFTs in Medicare. This is an improvement from the last Congress, given that the House bill was introduced in June 2017, and the Senate bill wasn’t introduced until September 2017. Despite a later introduction in the 115^th Congress, we had record-level support in the House with 74 cosponsors. Most of the cosponsors of MFTs in Medicare legislation were re-elected in the 2018 Midterm Elections, which is promising for continuing to build support for these bills.

Our members are our greatest asset in this endeavor. A strong showing of support from AAMFT members can increase the chance of MFTs in Medicare legislation progressing through the legislative process. Please contact your Members of Congress and ask them to cosponsor H.R. 945 and S. 286.