Austin, A., Craig, S. L., & Alessi, E. J. (2017). Affirmative cognitive behavior therapy with transgender and gender nonconforming adults. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 40(1), 141–156. Web.
Austin et al. (2017) introduce mental health clinicians to transgender-affirmative cognitive behavior therapy (TA-CBT). Austin et al. (2017) conducted scientific literature reviews to understand the experiences of TGNCs and the transgender-affirmative clinical approaches that have shown remarkable improvement in their mental health. This study determines that TA-CBT helps TGNC individuals: manage and cope with the effects of traumatic events; validate their experiences and enhance the support, resources, and skills they need to navigate interpersonal, social, and cultural contexts rooted in cisgender privilege.
Ashley Austin, Ph.D., is a prominent Professor of the Center for Human Rights and Social Justice currently working as a Professor of Social Work at Barry University in Miami, Florida. Her works revolve around research studies on reducing health and treatment disparities gender diverse minorities face. Austin has specialized in therapeutic interventions among transgender and marginalized populations and published, researched, and taught mental health techniques among gender-diverse minorities.
Austin et al. (2017) provide case scenario activities that are reliable when handling TGNC individuals and offering treatment options for their mental health conditions.
Austin et al. (2017) indicate that various TA-CBT components are essential in helping TGNC individuals understand the prevalence and effects of transgender stigma and prejudice. This study assists my research in formulating appropriate components in understanding the experiences of TGNC and determining the appropriate therapeutic intervention according to their conditions.
Beaumont, S. L. (2015). Art therapy for gender-variant individuals: A compassion-oriented approach. Canadian Art Therapy Association Journal, 25(2), 1–6. Web.
Beaumont (2015) conducted a scientific literature review of the various therapeutic techniques in psychology for treating gender-variant individuals. She compared these studies and determined that a compassion-based approach is suitable for treating mental and related illnesses among gender-variant individuals. This research illustrates that Compassion-Oriented Art Therapy may be suitable for treating gender-variant individuals suffering from mental distress due to self-criticism and shame.
Sherry L. Beaumont received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Waterloo. She is an artist, art therapist in training, and a Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Northern British Columbia. Beaumont is experienced in developmental psychology and positive psychology and has participated in research studies involving parent-adolescent communication, lifespan development, self-identity, and well-being.
Beaumont (2015) used scientific literature to critique and compare various therapeutic techniques.
Beaumont (2015) suggests that a specific form of art therapy known as Compassion-Oriented Art Therapy is essential in enhancing self-soothing and self-compassion skills among gender-variant individuals. This technique helps these individuals therapeutically. It enables them to acquire relief and reduce self-criticism and shame and provide the potential for resilient coping based on self-acceptance and compassion. This study provides art therapy as a technique to support the need for my research in determining the different therapeutic methods offered to TGNC individuals in underserved areas.
Butler, R. M., Horenstein, A., Gitlin, M., Testa, R. J., Kaplan, S. C., Swee, M. B., & Heimberg, R. G. (2019). Social anxiety among transgender and gender nonconforming individuals: The role of gender-affirming medical interventions. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 128(1), 25–31. Web.
Butler et al. (2019) used the Trans Health Survey to examine the variables related to mental and physical health among TGNC individuals. They conducted online recruitment of 715 study participants, and the survey was done online. Demographic questionnaires were used to fill in the participants’ details. Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN) was used to measure social anxiety. The participants were provided with a list of gender-affirming medical interventions (GAMIs) to review their options. Butler et al. (2019) illustrate that GAMIs are associated with reduced social anxiety among TGNC individuals. The dependent variables measured in this study are GAMIs and social anxiety, while the independent variables are the types of interventions and gender identity. This study examined the relationship between the use of GAMIs and social anxiety in a sample of trans-feminine and trans-masculine individuals.
Rachel M. Butler is a Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. She has experience and skills in psychological assessment, psychopathology, mental illness, and other mental health-related therapeutic services.
Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN) instrument used has high reliability with a Cronbach’s alpha of.82. This study recommends GAMI to TGNC individuals with body dissatisfaction and willing to conform to the societal binary gender forms because it is associated with reduced social anxiety and increased body satisfaction. This study recommends an extension of research of social anxiety and GAMI on the non-binary population. Thus, my research will determine if GAMI is an efficient therapeutic technique recommended to TGNC individuals in underserved regions.
Hembree, W. C., Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., Gooren, L., Hannema, S. E., Meyer, W. J., Murad, M. H., Rosenthal, S. M., Safer, J. D., Tangpricha, V., & T’Sjoen, G. G. (2017). Endocrine Treatment of Gender-Dysphoric/Gender-Incongruent Persons: An Endocrine Society* Clinical Practice Guideline. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 102(11), 3869–3903. Web.
Hembree et al. (2017) conducted a consensus meeting through group meetings, email communications, and conference calls. “This evidence-based guideline was developed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach to describe the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence” (Hembree et al., 2017, p. 3869). Two systematic reviews were conducted, and more evidence was obtained from other systematic reviews and individuals studies. This study suggests that various psychiatric interventions decrease mental illness and related conditions among non-binary populations. Therefore, it helps my study determine a relationship between the appropriate intervention to reduce other mental health and related illnesses.
Dr. Wylie C. Hembree is an endocrinologist in New York, New York, with over 21 years of experience and affiliations with New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell. He is specialized in various endocrine disorders and has published research materials focusing on hormonal interventions to treat minority groups such as LGBTQ, TGNC, and gender dysphoric/ incongruent individuals.
The two systematic reviews conducted provided insufficient evidence on the effects of sex steroids on lipids and cardiovascular outcomes and the bone health of transgender individuals.
Hembree et al. (2017) suggest a range of options to treat mental health and related illnesses among the non-binary populations. This helps determine the appropriate intervention to treat various TGNC individuals in underserved areas depending on their mental health experience.
Lee, H., Park, J., Choi, B., Yi, H., & Kim, S.-S. (2018). Experiences of and barriers to transition-related healthcare among Korean transgender adults: Focus on gender identity disorder diagnosis, hormone therapy, and sex reassignment surgery. Epidemiology and Health, 40. Web.
Lee et al. (2018) conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey of 278 transgender adults to assess the prevalence of transition-related healthcare, including gender identity disorder (GID) diagnosis, hormone therapy, and sex reassignment surgery. Lee et al. (2018) interviewed the participants to determine why they did not receive each procedure. Additionally, they investigated their experiences and reasons for using non-prescribed hormone medications.
This research determined that transition-related healthcare is essential for alleviating gender dysphoria among transgender individuals. Additionally, education and training programs for providers on transition-related healthcare and institutionalized intervention programs are recommended to minimize adverse psychological effects to these groups. These indicate that these programs are some of the appropriate intervention techniques used in resource-limited areas.
Hyemin Lee is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Public Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Korea University, Seoul, Korea. She is a Rainbow Connection Project (RCP) team member, which is a research project focusing on studies Korean sexual and gender minority individuals. These studies are conducted in the Epidemiology Laboratory at Korea University.
Questionnaires were administered to the study participants, whereby the study areas were grouped into demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and transition-related healthcare. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis, and the results were stratified by participants’ gender identity. Stata/SE version 13.0 (StataCorp., College Station, TX, USA) was used to perform all the statistical analyses.
My research is examining the various healthcare services that providers over to TGNC. Therefore, these recommendations are some of the reliable healthcare services psychiatrists can offer to TGNC to minimize mental health and related disorders.