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Transgender Mental Health
Although societal awareness of transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) individuals is greater now than at any point in history, most professional mental health training programs provide little to no education regarding gender diversity. Transgender Mental Health fills this gap. Forgoing clinical jargon in favor of accessible, straightforward language, this guide is designed to educate clinicians on how to address the basic needs of the TGNC community, and thus increase access to mental health care for TGNC individuals, which has been sorely lacking to this point. Four sections address topics such as the history of the TGNC experience, mental health factors particular to the TGNC community, physical health including hormones of TGNC individuals, and gender-affirming surgical procedures, as well as nonsurgical interventions. Summarizing key points and review questions are included at the end of each chapter. Relevant for a range of mental health professionals, Transgender Mental Health is a simple yet thorough primer on the complex topic of gender diversity.
- GenresPsychiatryQueer
339 pages, ebook
Published March 8, 2018
2 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 16, 2018
This book is specifically to help educate mental health practitioners already interested in helping people of trans experience. The first section covered terminology and advocacy, helpful in providing form letters but not far out of my knowledge base. The section on hormones reduced my anxiety as a prescriber, and the final section on surgery helped me understand the limits and possibilities of these procedures. Chapters ended with multiple choice quizzes to reinforce learning. I recommend this book as a great tool in how we as a profession care for this group of people.
March 17, 2019
This was a great book aimed at those in the mental health field to understand and treat transgender people. From the basics of terminology to the surgeries that some may choose, I read this book like the author said- cover to cover. I think it finds it important that mental health providers read books such as this to get an idea of what a trans person experience. I felt like this book did a good job and I learned from it. I have had to teach professionals about me being transgender. It is hard cause you just want to get your appointment over with and then you have to say oh yeah you have no idea on what trans is and now I have to explain.
The book is in a language that is easy to understand. terminology is the first thing considered so getting the lingo about what's up and up with trans is easy. What I really liked about this book is that it showed drawings of metoidioplasty and phalloplasty. I have read a few other trans resource books and when they get to this section, unlike transgender woman, images or drawings are just not included so understanding what the book means by 'tube within a tube' can sometimes be tricky to picture. I know ftm bottom surgery, like the book, points out, is not a really common thing about ftms but it still important to know what results could look like.
Another thing I liked was the case studies of individuals and questions at the end of each chapter.
Overall I was really satisfied with the book in promoting advocacy for a minority who has a hard time existing mainly because of just being because transgender people want to be themselves.
The book is in a language that is easy to understand. terminology is the first thing considered so getting the lingo about what's up and up with trans is easy. What I really liked about this book is that it showed drawings of metoidioplasty and phalloplasty. I have read a few other trans resource books and when they get to this section, unlike transgender woman, images or drawings are just not included so understanding what the book means by 'tube within a tube' can sometimes be tricky to picture. I know ftm bottom surgery, like the book, points out, is not a really common thing about ftms but it still important to know what results could look like.
Another thing I liked was the case studies of individuals and questions at the end of each chapter.
Overall I was really satisfied with the book in promoting advocacy for a minority who has a hard time existing mainly because of just being because transgender people want to be themselves.
August 8, 2022
To preface this review: I am not a clinician or mental health practitioner. I am a transgender plural system (using “I” for the sake of simplicity—so as not to confuse those unfamiliar with the concept of plurality) who happened to stumble upon a quote from the section of this book that discusses plurality. I was absolutely enamored and shocked by how inclusive and respectful the passage was. Upon reading the section in full, and the book as a whole, I am even more impressed with this resource.
This book contains so much of what I wish my mental healthcare and transition healthcare providers would understand, but have a hard time explaining to them in a way they will listen. The self-definition and autonomy of patients is emphasized in a way that I rarely see any clinician-targeted resource on plurality do, having read several. It is rare to see the many varying experiences which fall under the umbrella of plurality be respected as an aspect of identity defined by the person(s) experiencing it rather than an aberration to be examined and begrudgingly worked around or cured/corrected. For once, plural systems are not told to assimilate into a world of people unlike them in order to access the healthcare we need, but clinicians are told to work with us, to acknowledge all members of a system as individuals worthy of the same respect any other patient would be given. I of course recognize that many things had to be simplified for the sake of this book. It is, after all, a guide for clinicians, not an in-depth explanation of the nuances of plurality. Regardless, I find the broad acceptance of diverse and nuanced plural experiences to be extremely refreshing.
Reading this gave me hope for a future of trans mental healthcare that finally not only acknowledges but respects people like me—people who aren’t the only person in their body. I hope that many clinicians read this resource and truly take on the guidance it provides. Perhaps one day I won’t have to fear about losing access to transition care and other necessary resources simply for being the way I am and not wanting to change it.
This book contains so much of what I wish my mental healthcare and transition healthcare providers would understand, but have a hard time explaining to them in a way they will listen. The self-definition and autonomy of patients is emphasized in a way that I rarely see any clinician-targeted resource on plurality do, having read several. It is rare to see the many varying experiences which fall under the umbrella of plurality be respected as an aspect of identity defined by the person(s) experiencing it rather than an aberration to be examined and begrudgingly worked around or cured/corrected. For once, plural systems are not told to assimilate into a world of people unlike them in order to access the healthcare we need, but clinicians are told to work with us, to acknowledge all members of a system as individuals worthy of the same respect any other patient would be given. I of course recognize that many things had to be simplified for the sake of this book. It is, after all, a guide for clinicians, not an in-depth explanation of the nuances of plurality. Regardless, I find the broad acceptance of diverse and nuanced plural experiences to be extremely refreshing.
Reading this gave me hope for a future of trans mental healthcare that finally not only acknowledges but respects people like me—people who aren’t the only person in their body. I hope that many clinicians read this resource and truly take on the guidance it provides. Perhaps one day I won’t have to fear about losing access to transition care and other necessary resources simply for being the way I am and not wanting to change it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews