16th Annual Meeting - San Diego
2023 Midwinter Meeting
JANUARY 15-16, 2023
SAN DIEGO, CA
Healthcare for Transgender and Sexual Minority Individuals:
Competencies, Ethics and Practice
Transgender and sexual minority individuals face significant stigma and discrimination within our society and healthcare systems. The healthcare needs of transgender and sexual minority individuals is complex and access to gender affirming physical and mental-health care is often limited, resulting in disparities of care and poorer health outcomes.
This meeting builds on our series of Midwinter Meetings to inform clinical health psychology training programs on innovations in training related to health service psychology, with the theme of Healthcare for Transgender and Sexual Minority Individuals.
Conference speakers:
Day 1: Sunday January 15th (8:00am-4:15pm)
- Cathi Grus, PhD, Chief Education Officer, APA
- Colleen Sloan, PhD, Boston VAMC Interdisciplinary Transgender Treatment Team Lead
- Nadine Nakamura, PhD, Professor CSPP, Alliant International University, San Diego; Co-Chair APA LGB Guidelines Revision Task Force
- Christy L. Olezeski, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Director Yale Gender Program, Yale School of Medicine
- Tyson Pankey, PhD, Assistant Professor, Associate Program Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (Education), Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine
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- Panel Discussion
Day 1 began with a talk provided by Dr. Colleen Sloan, a clinical psychologist at the VA Boston Healthcare System and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine. She is the Track Coordinator of the LGBTQ+ Health track within the Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at VA Boston and is involved both locally and nationally in education, training, and consultation in sexual and gender minority (SGM) health. Her presentation discussed sexual and gender diversity inequities and disparities from macro, mezzo, and micro levels perspectives and the relevant theories (emotion dysregulation, minority stress, transactional model) associated with these levels. Her presentation also discussed how multilevel intervention approaches that adapt EBTs and trauma-informed care can be used to address inequities.
Dr Cathi Grus, Chief Education Officer, APA then provided an update from the Education Directorate and discussed the several important current drivers of change in psychology education and training. Specifically, she provided helpful updates on the demographic cliff, socially responsive education and training, and changes within the federal policy landscape.
Dr. Nadine Nakamura followed Dr. Grus. Dr. Nakamura is a Professor at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in San Diego. Her research focuses on LGBTQ people of color, LGBTQ immigrants and asylum seekers, as well as LGBTQ international issues. She recently served as co-chair of the APA LGB Guidelines Revisions Task Force and has served as on the APA Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, and on the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration. Her presentation examined resiliency in LGBTQ+ populations and addressed the questions on who is responsible for resilience, how do LGBTQ+ people resist stigma and oppression, and what is the role of critical consciousness?
The afternoon program began with Dr. Christy Olezeski, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine and Director of the Yale Pediatric Gender Program (YPGP) giving a talk titled, “Working with Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth.” In her talk she examined critical psychological, social, and environmental stressors experienced by transgendered youth, and reviewed environmental and social supports that can support transgender and gender-diverse youth.
The final speaker for the day was Dr. Tyson Pankey. Dr. Penkey is a licensed psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine. He is also the Associate Program Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for all educational programs within his department. Dr. Penkey’s talk was titled, “Transforming Self, Others and Systems in Clinical health Psychology.” In his talk, he described his own personal gender trajectory, and highlighted critical needs and opportunities within training programs to support trainees and promote workforce diversification.
Day 2: Monday January 16th (8:00am-12:00pm)
- Katy Trotta, PsyD, APA Div. 44 Co-Chair, Public Policy Committee
- Jamison Green, Ph.D., Author, Becoming a Visible Man
- Small Group Discussion
- Business Meeting for CCHPTP Members
Day 2 began with a talk given by Dr. Katy Trotta, a licensed psychologist and Co-Chair of the Transgender Treatment Advisory Committee for the Department of State Hospitals – Atascadero, CA. She is on the leadership board for the statewide LBGTQ committee for all of the Department of State Hospitals in California. Her presentation examined the ethical concerns of working with transgender and gender diverse individuals (and LGBQI+) and specifically addressed ethical issues related to “when and why do we refer out?”, understanding the process for writing letters for “medical necessity” for Gender Affirmation Surgery and contemporary research on the ethical guidelines in working with LGBTQIA communities.
Next, Dr. Jamison Green, an internationally-respected author, educator, and advocate for transgender health, civil rights, and social safety spoke. Dr. Green is the author of the prize-winning classic text Becoming a Visible Man (2020) and co-author of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)’s Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People. He served on the WPATH board of directors for 15 years, including 7 years on the executive committee and 2.5 years as president. His presentation included a description of his own gender journey and highlighted the purpose and function of the WPATH Standards of Care (SOC). He also discussed the importance of advocacy and ways to discern whether federal laws supersede state laws in US practice settings, as well as ethical considerations involved in transgender patient care.
The Midwinter Meeting concluded with a brief business meeting that announced the addition of a new trainee representative to the board and other board member changes, including thanking Dr. Sharon Berry for her many years of service to CCHPTP. Member interests and potential future meeting topics were briefly discussed.
Program Chairs:
- Serina Neuman, PhD, Hampton VA Medical Center
- Bernadette Heckman, PhD, University of Georgia
CE Credits
CE credits available through Wayne State University for those who attended in person. The Department of Psychology at Wayne State University is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Department of Psychology at WSU maintains responsibility for the program and its contents.
