Virtual Workshop

The History

of the mental health treatment of trans people and
the development of trans-affirmative care

December 4, 2026
1 – 4:30 pm PT

 – 3 CEs Available –

This workshop provides an overview of the mental health treatment of trans people and the development of trans-affirmative care over the past century. The history of transgender individuals is often told through the lenses of politics or medicine—both undeniably important. However, the significant role that the mental health field has played in the history and development of gender-affirming care is frequently reduced to a footnote in the larger narrative.

Gender-diverse people—transgender, nonbinary, intersex, and genderqueer—have been medically probed, theorized, and pathologized with a sharp diagnostic scalpel. When seeking therapeutic help, they have often been traumatized further. The path toward authenticity has been perilous, strewn with diagnostic obstacles, and too narrow for honest embodiment.

Why is this important?

Understanding the history of diagnostic classifications, mental health assessments, real-life tests, and reparative treatments is essential to the provision and advancement of genuinely affirmative care. Participants will learn about the foundational theories of gender diversity in Western cultures and the perspectives of the main proponents of various treatment philosophies. The historical role of mental health providers as gatekeepers for medical transition will be critically interrogated. Most importantly, the workshop will explore the legacy of this history as it impacts modern clinical treatment, therapeutic assessment, and contemporary legislative battles.

What we will cover?

This workshop traces how the mental health field has diagnosed and treated trans people over the past century, and how that history still shapes care today. We’ll begin with early psychiatric diagnoses and the key figures whose theories framed gender diversity as pathology, then look at reparative and conversion approaches and the harm they caused. From there, we’ll examine how therapists became gatekeepers to medical care and what that did to the therapeutic relationship. We’ll close by connecting these old ideas to modern practice and today’s anti-trans legislation, so you leave with a clearer understanding of this history and a stronger foundation for supporting transgender and gender diverse clients.

Learning Objectives:

  • Describe the history of psychiatric diagnoses and how early mental health models pathologized trans individuals.
  • Identify key historical figures and the psychological theories they used to define and treat gender diversity.
  • Explain the development and clinical framework of reparative therapies, and the underlying psychiatric theories used to justify them.
  • Examine how the medical establishment positioned mental health providers as gatekeepers to physical care, and how this mandated role impacts true clinical connection with clients.
  • Analyze how the legacy of these harmful clinical practices continues to operate today, often disguised within modern therapeutic approaches.
  • Evaluate how this history of psychological gatekeeping and pathology directly fuels today’s anti-trans legislative battles and clinical barriers.
ENROLL NOW

The History

of the mental health treatment of trans people and the development of trans-affirmative care

December 4, 2026
1 – 4:30 pm PT

Early Bird

$199.00

Early Bird valid through November 22, 2026.
After November 22, price is $249

3 CE Credits Available

The Gender Health Training Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Gender Health Training Institute maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Gender Health Training Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0339.

Gender Health Training Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists PSY-0322.

Who is leading this workshop?

Arlene (Ari) LCSW-R, CASAC, CSTS

Arlene (Ari) LCSW-R, CASAC, CSTS is a social worker, family therapist, and activist who has been serving the LGBTQ community for 40+ years. She is the Clinical Director of Choices Counseling and Consulting (www.choicesconsulting.com), the Director of The Institute for Gender, Relationships, Identity, and Sexuality (TIGRIS – www.tigrisinstitute.com), and the Founder of PRISM, which provides low-cost therapy to LGBTQ+ individuals, all located in Albany, NY.

Ari is a Credentialed Alcoholism Counselor, an approved Mentor with the GEI (Global Education Initiative) for applicants seeking WPATH Certification, a Certified Sex Therapy Supervisor through ASSECT, and an approved AAMFT Supervisor. She is a Lecturer at the University at Albany, School of Social Welfare and has authored three books: The Complete Lesbian and Gay Parenting Guide, Transgender Emergence, and Families in Transition: Parent Perspectives on Raising Gender Diverse Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults (with Andrew Gottlieb). The second edition of Transgender Emergence is forthcoming. Ari offers supervision, consultation, and mentorship for social workers, and other mental health providers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Arlene (Ari) LCSW-R, CASAC, CSTS

Arlene (Ari) LCSW-R, CASAC, CSTS is a social worker, family therapist, and activist who has been serving the LGBTQ community for 40+ years. She is the Clinical Director of Choices Counseling and Consulting (www.choicesconsulting.com), the Director of The Institute for Gender, Relationships, Identity, and Sexuality (TIGRIS – www.tigrisinstitute.com), and the Founder of PRISM, which provides low-cost therapy to LGBTQ+ individuals, all located in Albany, NY.

Ari is a Credentialed Alcoholism Counselor, an approved Mentor with the GEI (Global Education Initiative) for applicants seeking WPATH Certification, a Certified Sex Therapy Supervisor through ASSECT, and an approved AAMFT Supervisor. She is a Lecturer at the University at Albany, School of Social Welfare and has authored three books: The Complete Lesbian and Gay Parenting Guide, Transgender Emergence, and Families in Transition: Parent Perspectives on Raising Gender Diverse Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults (with Andrew Gottlieb). The second edition of Transgender Emergence is forthcoming. Ari offers supervision, consultation, and mentorship for social workers, and other mental health providers.

TBA

You’ll have access to the digital portion of the workshop for one year.

Yes. 3 hours of CE’s and certificates of completion are provided through the Gender Health Training Institute.

The Gender Health Training Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Gender Health Training Institute maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Gender Health Training Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0339.

Satisfactory Completion
To receive a certificate, participants must have paid the tuition fee, attended the entire workshop, and completed an evaluation. Failure to log in or out will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available. Certificates will be available following course completion.

Evaluations and certificates will be available upon completing the evaluation at the end of the workshop.

Your satisfaction is our goal. Please read our Grievance Policy.

Grievance Policy

Gender Health Training Institute complies with all legal and ethical responsibilities to be non-discriminatory in promotional activities, program content, and treatment of program participants. The Director of Continuing Education is responsible for monitoring and assessing compliance with these standards. When a grievance arises regarding continuing education programs or processes, the complainant is expected to notify the Director of Continuing Education by e-mail as soon as possible so that the nature of the concern may be addressed in a timely fashion. The Director of Continuing Education, Shawn Giammattei, can be contacted by email at [email protected]. The Director of Continuing Education will make every effort to speak with the complainant to gather all necessary information to determine an appropriate course of action.

A grievance concerning a specific course offering, content, or costs may be resolved by:

  • Modifications to course materials as needed.
  • Opportunity for enrollment in an alternative course, if feasible.
  • Credit towards future course enrollment.
  • Partial or full refund.

The complainant will be kept informed of the status of the grievance, and the Gender Health Training Institute will retain a written copy of the grievance in their records for five years.

We are happy to accommodate your ADA needs, please email: [email protected].

There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.

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