Trite as it may sound, I have turned a new page, started a new chapter or begun a new book -- as you wish. Several weeks ago I accepted a new position. In addition to my private practice, I am the Coordinator of the Gender Identity Services Program at the Center for Special Problems (CSP) in San Francisco. This is a county mental health agency designed to serve the transgendered among others with "special problems." The criteria for admission are high, meaning one must be nearly disabled by gender identity disorder, depression, anxiety or mental illness in order to receive services.
As Coordinator, I oversee the treatment of all clients presenting with gender identity concerns. I push a lot of papers around but also get to give seminars to interns on the treatment of gender identity disorder, hold program meetings in which we discuss the newest treatment approaches and legislative issues affecting the transgendered population, and explore the feasibility of having a therapy group for transgendered clients.
It is this last challenge that I'd like to write about now. Group therapy is a very interesting and useful approach in dealing with a number of psychological concerns. While not for everybody, those who can accept sharing the floor and the therapist, have a capacity for empathy, can respect confidentiality and enjoy being helpful to others are ideal candidates.
Therapy groups can range from the totally non-directive to the highly structured. They can be homogeneous, all individuals are of similar ages, backgrounds and are dealing with the same issues or heterogeneous with members varying in all these respects. They can be open or closed in which all members start at the same time or people can join and leave as they need to.
Keeping in mind that transgendered clients at the Center for Special Problems have been accepted for treatment based on the severity of their need and may have numerous complaints in addition to gender identity issues, I am thinking about the sort of group that will work best.
Whereas in private practice, a non-directive group can give the most opportunity for members to deal with personal issues, I am considering forming a group at CSP which will be psycho-educational and structured in nature. That means that each week we will deal with a different topic and members will offer opinions, advice (usually a no-no in group therapy), resources and friendship to others, just as family members would. In addition to the "usual" but very important subjects of discussion such as passing, surgery, discrimination and coming out, I hope to introduce some topics that may encourage members' introspection and self-awareness such as isolation, dealing with anger, recovering from abuse and victimization and internalized transphobia.
I anticipate a positive response to this venture and would like to keep you informed about my progress. In any event, CSP is an exceptional place, perhaps the only public agency in the country serving the transgendered community and deserves more recognition than it has gotten. So thank you Renaissance and Transgender Forum!
Dr. Anderson is a therapist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She can be reached at 415-776-0139.