Episode 89 | Gender Affirming Care

In 2021, 21 states in total introduced bills to deny gender-affirming medical care to transgender youth. More recently, in Texas, Greg Abbott wrote a letter to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services stating that gender-affirming care to minors constitutes as child abuse and that "DFPS to investigate the parents of a child who is subjected to these abusive gender-transitioning procedures, and on other state agencies to investigate licensed facilities where such procedures may occur". As someone who regularly works with transgender and gender diverse youth, I wanted today's episode of Psych Talk to be about gender affirming care - what it is and the misconceptions about it. Many people are under the false impression that gender-affirming care is simply hormones and surgery, but gender-affirming care encompasses so much more than that. In this episode, I dive into what gender-affirming care is, the interventions that fall under gender-affirming care, what the research says about gender affirming care, and common misconceptions I hear about gender-affirming care and transgender/gender diverse youth in general. My goal of this episode is to be educational, not political, despite bringing up the politics that inspired this episode. My hope is that after listening to this episode, listeners have more knowledge on what gender-affirming care is, the research behind it, and clarification on misconceptions, so that they can make more informed decisions when it comes to their beliefs about the topic. I also acknowledge that I am a cisgender female without lived experience in this realm, both with being transgender/gender diverse and receiving gender affirming care, thus, although I consider myself knowledgable on this topic, I also recognize there are limits to my knowledge, I will never have all the knowledge, and I continue to learn and grow. Mentioned in this Episode: WPATH Standards of Care Ways to Work With Me: Mind Over Matter LGBTQ+ Affirming Masterclass Be a guest on my podcast Resources: Anti-Racism Resources LGBTQ+ Affirming Resources The Helping Professional's Guide to Boundary Setting Connect with Me: Follow me on IG @jessicaleighphd Follow the podcast on IG @psych.talk.podcast Follow me on TikTok @jessicaleighphd Join my Facebook community: Grow Through What You Go Through Sponsors & Collaborations: Awakening Together, Relaxing into Happiness with William Cooper, M.Th., LPC Experience Awakening....Relaxing into your Being and, therefore, Happiness. William has... Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Support the show