VIRTUAL WORKSHOP
The History
The History
of the mental health treatment of trans people and the development of trans-affirmative care
of the mental health treatment of trans people and the development of trans-affirmative care
December 4, 2026 1 – 4:30 pm PT
December 4, 2026
1 – 4:30 pm PT
This workshop provides an overview of the mental health treatment of trans people and the development of trans-affirmative care over the past century. The history of transgender individuals is often told through the lenses of politics or medicine—both undeniably important. However, the significant role that the mental health field has played in the history and development of gender-affirming care is frequently reduced to a footnote in the larger narrative.
Gender-diverse people—transgender, nonbinary, intersex, and genderqueer—have been medically probed, theorized, and pathologized with a sharp diagnostic scalpel. When seeking therapeutic help, they have often been traumatized further. The path toward authenticity has been perilous, strewn with diagnostic obstacles, and too narrow for honest embodiment.
Understanding the history of diagnostic classifications, mental health assessments, real-life tests, and reparative treatments is essential to the provision and advancement of genuinely affirmative care. Participants will learn about the foundational theories of gender diversity in Western cultures and the perspectives of the main proponents of various treatment philosophies. The historical role of mental health providers as gatekeepers for medical transition will be critically interrogated. Most importantly, the workshop will explore the legacy of this history as it impacts modern clinical treatment, therapeutic assessment, and contemporary legislative battles.
What Will We Cover?
This workshop traces how the mental health field has diagnosed and treated trans people over the past century, and how that history still shapes care today. We'll begin with early psychiatric diagnoses and the key figures whose theories framed gender diversity as pathology, then look at reparative and conversion approaches and the harm they caused. From there, we'll examine how therapists became gatekeepers to medical care and what that did to the therapeutic relationship. We'll close by connecting these old ideas to modern practice and today's anti-trans legislation, so you leave with a clearer understanding of this history and a stronger foundation for supporting transgender and gender diverse clients.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the history of psychiatric diagnoses and how early mental health models pathologized trans individuals.
- Identify key historical figures and the psychological theories they used to define and treat gender diversity.
- Explain the development and clinical framework of reparative therapies, and the underlying psychiatric theories used to justify them.
- Examine how the medical establishment positioned mental health providers as gatekeepers to physical care, and how this mandated role impacts true clinical connection with clients.
- Analyze how the legacy of these harmful clinical practices continues to operate today, often disguised within modern therapeutic approaches.
- Evaluate how this history of psychological gatekeeping and pathology directly fuels today’s anti-trans legislative battles and clinical barriers.
Course Curriculum
The History
of the mental health treatment of trans people and the development of trans-affirmative care
Early Bird
$199
Early Bird valid through November 22, 2026.
After November 22, price is $249
CE's INCLUDED (3 CEs)
- Video recordings (available for 1 yr)
- Course Slides
- Certificate (3 CE's)
Arlene (Ari) LCSW-R, CASAC, CSTS is a social worker, family therapist, and activist who has been serving the LGBTQ community for 40+ years. She is the Clinical Director of Choices Counseling and Consulting (www.choicesconsulting.com), the Director of The Institute for Gender, Relationships, Identity, and Sexuality (TIGRIS - www.tigrisinstitute.com), and the Founder of PRISM, which provides low-cost therapy to LGBTQ+ individuals, all located in Albany, NY. Ari is a Credentialed Alcoholism Counselor, an approved Mentor with the GEI (Global Education Initiative) for applicants seeking WPATH Certification, a Certified Sex Therapy Supervisor through ASSECT, and an approved AAMFT Supervisor. She is a Lecturer at the University at Albany, School of Social Welfare and has authored three books: The Complete Lesbian and Gay Parenting Guide, Transgender Emergence, and Families in Transition: Parent Perspectives on Raising Gender Diverse Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults (with Andrew Gottlieb). The second edition of Transgender Emergence is forthcoming. Ari offers supervision, consultation, and mentorship for social workers, and other mental health providers.
