Abstract
Transgender individuals remain highly stigmatized and discriminated against within our society. While DSM understandings of gender dysphoria contribute to this stigma, much remains rooted in religious interpretations that view transgender identities as sinful. These beliefs and related experiences of rejection and discrimination place transgender people at high risk for both self-harm and violence from others. Socially just clinical practice with trans individuals, couples, and families must incorporate two processes: (1) an exploration of ways faith and religion may contribute to experiences of loss, pain, internalized oppression, or trauma, and (2) the development of resilience strategies that facilitate a positive sense of self, spirituality, hope, and resistance. Using an extended case example, I will demonstrate these two processes while providing specific clinical interventions for increasing resilience and resistance in the transgender community.
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Nealy, E.C. (2018). Before You Were Born I Consecrated You (Jeremiah 1:5, NRSV): Spiritual Resilience and Resistance Within Transgender Families and Communities. In: Esmiol Wilson, E., Nice, L. (eds) Socially Just Religious and Spiritual Interventions. AFTA SpringerBriefs in Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01986-0_5
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