Season 01 Ep 15: Therapy and Assessment for Trans Youth - Forging a Supportive Path Forward with Laura Edwards-Leeper, Ph.D
There are lots of different opinions on the best way to support trans youth.
Even among the community of affirming providers, there are lots of opinions of what should or should not happen for youth.
According to standards of care written by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), once a person is 18, they should have access to care through the informed consent model.
Meaning, they walk into a clinic, they say they're trans, they receive education about hormones and what they'll do to their body, they sign some forms and they're good to go.
There are many individuals who feel that this should also be the path for youth. But according to WPATH, youth are required to undergo a comprehensive mental health assessment before they can proceed with hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Some professionals in the field, as well as within the trans community, feel like this is gatekeeping and creates unnecessary barriers to getting life-saving care.
Others feel that this is a necessary step to assure that trans youth are clear on what they're experiencing and are ready for the changes that will come with HRT.
Why? Shouldn't a person be able to say what they need and we believe them?
Today, we're going to hear from Dr. Laura Edwards-Leeper. Laura is a pioneer and had the courage to step up for trans kids years before any of the other gender clinics started doing this work. She was the founding psychologist in the first youth transgender clinic in the United States and is currently the chair of the Child and Adolescent Committee for WPATH and is heavily involved in the revision of the standards of care.
She has a private practice outside of Portland, Oregon, where she works with transgender and gender-diverse children and adolescents, and adults for therapy and assessment. She also provides consultation and training to providers and clinics around the country. Internationally she's often a go-to resource for media outlets, including the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Washington Post the BBC and most recently 60 Minutes.
Find this episode for free on your favorite podcast player.
Check out the full episode to hear about:
Why the standards of care for children and adolescents are different than those for adults and why that includes a comprehensive mental health assessment
What parents can do to be part of the assessment process to maintain or strengthen their relationships with their kiddos
Advice for how to find a clinician skilled in working with adolescents and their families for assessment and therapy
Why an assessment is not a final yes or no, but a source of information