52.3 transcending cultural barriers in working with gender-expansive youth and their families

Similar to all families, the families of gender-diverse youth present with beliefs, values, and patterns of interacting with others stemming from their lived experiences of community, culture, and ethnicity. Appreciation of a family ’s background and values can play an important role in helping family members to find common ground and enable them to provide affirmation and support, which are very important in improving mental health outcomes for gender-diverse youth. This can represent a significant challenge for child and ad olescent psychiatrists, who often receive little training in incorporating cultural and ethnic differences in family therapy techniques and may struggle to address culturally based beliefs about gender identity and sexuality that differ from their own.
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Clinical Perspectives 52 Source Type: research