The ethics presentation I wrote about last month at the East Tennessee State University Social Work Professional Development Conference was amazing. In a room of over 300 people, there was laughter and tears and learning, and those components are at the center of my most memorable experiences.

Some of what I shared in the presentation was from a 2019 report from the Campaign for Southern Equality called the Southern LGBTQ Health Survey. In the survey, more than half of the 5,600 respondents reported fair or poor mental health, and transgender respondents were significantly more likely to report worse mental health than their cisgender peers.

Unfortunately, 16% of trans respondents and 20% of non-binary respondents also reported that they rarely or never have a positive experience with mental health providers. Less than 20% reported that they always have a positive experience with their mental health providers. These numbers are even worse for youth and those with lower incomes. This tells me that, as field, we have a lot of work to do to improve the experiences of trans and non-binary clients who come to us for help. (Keep reading for a resource to support these improvements.)

My favorite part came at the end of the day when I had the opportunity to moderate a panel discussion where trans and non-binary community members shared the good, the bad, and the ugly of their experiences accessing mental health services. I’ve attended a good number of panels of trans folks sharing their experiences and moderated a few before. Maybe I’ll share more thoughts later about what I think makes those discussions successful for the panelists as well as for the audience, but for now, I just want to bask in my gratitude for how those on the panel showed up with such vulnerability and authenticity and how the audience held that vulnerability with such presence and compassion.

It’s no small feat for a ballroom full of social workers, who have been sitting in straight-backed chairs listening to presentations about trauma since at least 9AM, to stay engaged and present at 4:30 in the afternoon, especially knowing that the snow’s been picking up all day and it might not be that easy to get home. And yet, when the panelists were sharing, sometimes tearfully, about their experiences of transphobia and other forms of oppression and struggles with mental health, you could have heard a pin drop in that ballroom. Or at least that’s what it felt like to me, sitting up on that stage.

The power of telling our stories of marginalization and being heard with understanding, compassion, and shared outrage is undeniable. Sharing our truths and being heard can be so healing. My hope is that those in the room who received these truths can take what they learned, share it with others and use it to transform their work and their workplaces in service of healing and liberation for us all.

The knowledge that trans and non-binary clients (along with other clients with intersecting marginalized identities) are having negative experiences with their mental health providers, alongside the knowledge that there are so many providers who want to offer more affirming services to these clients, is what led me to put together my upcoming supervision and consultation group.

Trauma, Oppression and the Therapeutic Relationship is for anyone who provides mental health and wellness services and knows they could learn more about how trauma and oppression impact their clients' healing process and their therapeutic relationships. While not explicity focused on trans and non-binary clients, this is my area of specialty. We'll discuss models for understanding gender and sexuality, as well as models for understanding trauma and oppression and concepts related to privilege, microaggressions, and internalized oppression. And, perhaps most importantly, we'll talk about how all of this can show up in your office and what to do about it. The details are here, along with an interest form to learn more about whether or not this is the right group for you. I'll hope you'll join me.