Counselling Gender Diverse Clients

Gender can play a significant role in the development of an individual's identity, sense of purpose and belonging in the world. Gender role construction, whilst providing a valuable foundation for socially accepted behaviour for one child, may create confusion and dissonance for another. Confusion and the inability to develop a secure sense of self is more strongly felt by, but not limited to, intersex individuals and persons with gender dysphoria (that is, those who do not feel themselves to be the gender they were assigned at birth). In conjunction, gender roles and the way in which we acquire them is constantly evolving. For this reason, our approach to working with gender-diverse individuals must also evolve. This course is aimed at providing an overview of gender diversity in order to assist counsellors, psychologists, psychotherapists and other mental health practitioners to provide the best service possible.