You’re a Counsellor, Therapist or Mental Health Professional who’s dedicated to recognising the unique nature of each individual GSRD client, mastering the latest thinking about gender identities is an essential aspect of your expert knowledge.

You’d like to develop the confidence to explore the wide range of biosocial factors and experiences that clients of non-binary and binary genders and their families may present with in your clinical practice, to understand appropriate use of language with gender diverse clients and demystify the shifting terminology relating to gender, Pink Therapy’s online learning Gender Identities CPD module offers the ideal solution to enhance your specialist skill set.

This module facilitates an in-depth exploration of the complex factors that contribute to sex and gender identity such as the nature of the physical genitalia, the wide spectrum of gender roles and expression, sexual orientation and erotic identity.

You’ll develop your understanding of the challenges faced by less ‘visible’ clients including those from intersex, androgynous and gender variant groups as well as those who identify as Transgender. You’ll also explore the issues that arise for the families of gender diverse clients and the problems of relating that may occur.

You’ll develop the skills to offer an inclusive, welcoming approach to all clients from a professional knowledge base that encompasses the reasons gender diverse clients seek therapy and gain clarity on how you can offer appropriate therapeutic interventions based on their needs.

Aims & Objectives:

• To explore the wide range of gender identities and consider the implications of the diversity of experience that clients may bring to therapy
• To understand the factors that contribute to sex and gender identity and explore the variety of terminologies and vocabulary that clients may use when talking about matters of identification
• To develop awareness of the biosocial factors and challenges that are relevant to gender diverse clients, including the impact of our current predominantly binary society, sources of prejudice and the intersections between other aspects of identity
• To understand the specific issues that may impact Transgender, Cisgender and Intersex/DSD clients, including Gender Dysphoria, variance, family related problems and the processes of diagnosis and assessment and develop confidence in offering welcoming therapeutic approaches that meet individual client needs
• To consider the impact that external societal factors make on gender diverse clients in terms of how others relate to them based on assumptions and attributions and explore how these issues can present in therapy
• To examine your own gender identity and consider what has influenced your thinking about this aspect of yourself and others.

This is a 15-hour CPD module. You can gain the CPD Certificate of Study issued by Pink Therapy by submitting and passing a tutor-marked assignment.

About the Author:

Alex Iantaffi, PhD, MS, SEP, CST, LMFT (they/them) is a family therapist, WPATH-certified gender specialist, AASECT-certified sex therapist, Somatic ExperiencingⓇ practitioner, clinical supervisor, and author. Alex is a Founding Member and Past Chair of the Trans and Queer interest network of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and President of the Minnesota Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (MAMFT). They have researched, presented and published extensively on gender, disability, sexuality, relationships, and HIV.

They are a trans masculine, nonbinary, bi queer, polyamorous, disabled, Italian immigrant and parent who has been living on Dakota and Anishinaabe territories, currently known as Minnesota, since 2008.

Alex is the author of award-winning book "Gender Trauma: healing cultural, social, and historical gendered trauma" and co-author of the books "How to Understand Your Gender: a practical guide for exploring who you are", “Life Isn’t Binary”, “How To Understand Your Sexuality”, and “Hell Yeah Self-Care: a Trauma-Informed Workbook”. They also host the podcast Gender Stories.

You can find out more about them at www.alexiantaffi.com or follow them on Twitter and Instagram @xtaffi and @genderstories