Running head: FAMILY TRANSGENDER THERAPY 1

Family Transgender Therapy

Name of Student:

Name of Institution:

Date:
FAMILY TRANSGENDER THERAPY 2

Family Transgender Therapy

Researchers have been critical of the states, and the therapeutic institutions in policing

and constructing of transgender identity. Ethical concerns and treatment directed to the

transgender people is a neglected subject from the family therapy literature. The sorts of

demanding concerns have occupied the small standing literature. Historical perceptions, concepts

and basic language concerning transgender, as well as developmental phases of transgender

children, are well illustrated in addition to how present-day research and treatment guiding

principle interrelate with ethics. Transgender professionals for working with transgender

children, youths and families, constituents of supportive therapy and ethical concerns

surrounding several gender transitions (Cole, Denny, Eyler, and Samons, 2000). This article

elaborates ethical considerations and treatment in serving transgender families.

There are various ethical considerations that family therapists should obtain when

working with the transgender children, youth, and family. First, the therapist family should

obtain wide-ranging information of the treatment protocols, procedures, and principles since they

highly determine the result of family transgender therapy. Secondly, the family therapists should

well understand the community resources readily available to their family transgender clients, for

instance, referral sources for the psychiatrist, support groups, and even endocrinologists. Third,

the therapists should research continuously on social issues and contemporary literature around

transgender concerns. Lastly, the therapists should be enthusiastic to advocate for his/her clients.

The majority of transgender clients do not fully comprehend their identity it's the role of the

therapists to educate and advice within the concerned systems to facilitate treatment protocols

(Lev, 2004).
FAMILY TRANSGENDER THERAPY 3

Therapists play significant roles to ensure a successful transgender therapy. For instance,

they examine the clients situation and contemplate their preparedness and readiness for gender

transition. Therapists are significance gatekeepers to medical gender changes. They also play

significant roles to support the children, youths, and family helping them to transition through

the developmental phases of transgender protocols and procedures (Connolly, 2005). Because of

their sensitive responsibilities, therapists should be knowledgeable of their faithfulness to the

ethical code of confidentiality.

Gender developmental theory indicates that the transition procedure to the ideal gender

should be examined as soon as the client expresses the desire to try other gender expressions in

contrast to his/her factual gender. Family therapists should consider the ethical inferences of

conditions of disclosure of the client's transgender identity (Israel, 2005). During the entire

disclosure process, the therapists ought to prepare the client family to effectively execute the

treatment protocols, and prevent any negative feedback. Therefore, its important for the

therapists to understand when to initiate the treatment phases. It's ethically upright for the

therapists to comprehend the possible negative feedbacks of hormonally. Therapy sessions such

as hormonal therapy can be utilized to kindle the development of emotional and physical features

of the ideal gender.

In conclusion, family therapy is a critical subject in the present transgender therapy

domain. Therapy professionals should be conversant with the treatment as well as the ethical

practices, protocols, and guidelines to be followed by transgender children, youths, and family.

Through stable therapists' knowledge with educative measures will help transitional children,

youths, and family to fill the substantial transgender therapeutic gap that has been historically

misconstrued and underserved.

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References

Cole, S. S., Denny, D., Eyler, A. E., & Samons, S. L. (2000). Issues of transgender. In L. T.

Szuchman & F. Muscarella (Eds.). Psychological perspectives on human sexuality (pp.

149-195). New York, NY: Wiley

Connolly, C. M. (2005). A process of change: The intersection of the GLBT individual and their

family of origin. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 1(1), 520.

Israel, G. E. (2005). Translove: Transgender Persons and their Families. Journal of GLBT

Family Studies, 1(1), 5367.

Lev, A. I. (2004). Transgender emergence: Therapeutic guidelines for working with gender-

variant people and their families. Binghamton, NY: Haworth.