Best Practices for Music Therapists and Providers Working with Transgender, Non-Binary, or Gender Expansive Clients (2 CMTEs)

Presenter: Shawn V Giammatei, PhD

When working with transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive clients, good intentions matter, but they aren’t enough. Understanding language, gender identity, your own potential biases, and the experiences that may affect your clients can help you create a therapeutic environment where people feel respected, understood, and safe to be themselves.

This practical Gender basics course gives music therapists and other clinicians a foundation for providing more informed, gender-affirming care. You’ll explore current terminology, the differences between gender and sexuality, and the Gender Affirmative Model, while developing a better understanding of gender dysphoria, minority stress, and resilience and how these experiences may influence a client’s presentation and therapeutic needs.

You’ll also be encouraged to examine your own understanding of gender and uncover assumptions or biases that could unintentionally affect your clinical work. The goal isn’t to know everything. It’s to become a more aware, informed, and affirming clinician who can approach gender-diverse clients with greater confidence, sensitivity, and respect.

Earn 2 Ethics CMTE credits while strengthening your ability to provide affirming and ethically responsive care.

In this workshop, you will learn:

Current terminology for working respectfully with transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive clients.
How gender identity and sexuality differ and why understanding that distinction matters in clinical practice.
The foundations of the Gender Affirmative Model and how to apply a gender-affirming approach in your work.
How gender dysphoria, minority stress, and resilience can affect a client’s experiences and presentation.
How to examine your own gender journey, assumptions, and potential biases as part of ethical clinical practice.
Practical ways to create a more respectful, inclusive, and affirming therapeutic environment for gender-diverse clients.

Course Schedule

15 min

Define gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation

15 min

Gender presentations are diverse and varied across culture, requiring cultural sensitivity/humility.
The gender affirmative model
Gender dysphoria, invalidating environment, self invalidation, lose touch with reality
Gender noise- trauma

15 minutes

The gender affirming therapist- areas of competency, let go of biases, know the terminology
Everyone has a gender journey. Your understanding of this process for yourself personally and professionally and your clients is key to gender affirmative treatment.
How to be in this together and collaborate to help clients get from where they are to where they want to be
Therapist know thyself: Uncover biases, privileges, and beliefs
Understand potential negative experienced for your clients
Not all experiences are negative
Abuse and trauma in a trans context
Grief/ambiguous loss, especially for cis-gender partners
Don’t assume these but find out if they are present
Understand influence of transphobia
Traumas
Messages they hear often in treatment facilities and how to avoid them

15 minutes

Understand the influence of trans phobia and minority stress.

Don’t assume that being trans is the primary issue.

Be aware of the resilience present

+63 minutes of questions and answers

125 total minutes, 2 hours of contact time, 2 CMTEs

Learning Objectives

From this CMTE participants will be able to:

Describe the the importance of using gender affirming language and terminology with gender diverse clients
Differentiate the construct of gender identity from sexual orientation and describe the experience of gender dysphoria.
Describe the gender affirmative model and how to apply this approach to clients
Discover potential biases and judgments that arise while listening to the perspective, experience and narratives of a transgender man

CBMT Domains

Domain III Implementation: Task Statement 33 Utilize evidence-based techniques, including presence, authenticity, and respect, to establish and maintain trust and rapport with the client

Domain II Treatment Planning: 2D-1 Collaboration with the client and/or family/care partner and other professionals for treatment planning (e.g., goals, treatment preferences)

Domain III Implementation: Task Statement 34 Recognize one's own professional and personal biases, feelings, and behaviors that affect the therapeutic process (e.g., transference and counter-transference) to maintain boundaries within the therapeutic relationship

Best Practices for Music Therapists and Providers Working with Transgender, Non-Binary, or Gender Expansive Clients is approved by the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) for 2 CMTEs-Continuing Music Therapy Education credits. The Spiegel Academy, CBMT Approved Provider #P-106, maintains responsibility for program quality and adherence to CBMT policies and criteria.

Class Description