Affirming Psychotherapy for Transgender and Gender Diverse People: Understanding Affirming, Neutral, and Marginalizing Experiences in Therapy

The purpose of this study was to test whether therapeutic guidelines for working with Transgender and Gender Diverse People (TGD) people were seen as effective and which aspects were most helpful. Thematic analyses revealed three main themes of affirming, effective therapy: (1) therapists understanding nuances between TGD identity and mental health, (2) therapists actively making an effort to mitigate clients’ fear of marginalizing therapy, and (3) therapists fostering pride in a client's TGD identity. These findings provide support for updated training and guidelines to assist therapists working with transgender and gender diverse (TGD) folx.