Gender-Affirming Mental Health Care
What Helps and What Harms
- Speaker:
- Margaret Nichols, PhD
- Duration:
- Approx 3 hrs
- Language:
- Presented in EN, subtitles in EN and FR, handouts in EN and FR
- Copyright:
-
Mar 23, 2025
- Product Code:
- NOS096528
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
Description
If you’re confused about how to best work with trans and nonbinary clients these days, you’re not alone. In the U.S., more than one percent of adults and around two percent of teenagers openly identify as transgender, but gender-affirming mental health care is under attack, and most clinicians receive little or no training in working with this population. With 550 anti-trans bills currently in state legislatures, and 23 states with active bans against gender-affirming care, affirming therapy is desperately needed. In this workshop, you’ll explore the critical elements of gender-affirming care and the arguments for and against certain interventions. You’ll explore:
- How gender dysphoria manifests differently in children, adolescents, and adults, and what types of young people are likely to persist in a trans identity over time
- The difference between those who identify as transgender and those who are nonbinary
- What types of mental health and medical interventions are appropriate at different ages
- How to parse the arguments against gender-affirming care, including Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria and detransitioners
Credit
Program Information
Planning Committee Disclosure - No relevant relationshipsAll members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners. For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.
NOTE: Tuition includes one free CE Certificate (participant will be able to print the certificate of completion after passing the online post-test (80% passing score) and completing the evaluation). Instructional methods will include PowerPoint, didactic lecture, and others.
Continuing Education Information: Listed below are the continuing education credit(s) currently available for this non-interactive self-study package. Program content is reviewed periodically per accrediting board rules for currency and appropriateness for credit. Credit approvals are subject to change. Please note, your licensing board dictates whether self-study is an acceptable form of continuing education, as well as which credit types are acceptable for continuing education hours. Please refer to your licensing board's rules and regulations. If your profession is not listed, please contact your licensing board to determine your continuing education requirements and check for reciprocal approval.
For other credit inquiries not specified below, please contact info@pesi.com or 800-844-8260 before purchase.
Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of your profession. As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice in accordance with and in compliance with your profession's standards.
For Planning Committee disclosures, please see the statement above. For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.
Earn up to 2.5 CE hours. Please see below, for more details, as credit amounts vary by jurisdiction and profession.
PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association to offer continuing education for counsellors and psychotherapists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This self-study activity is approved for 2.5 credit hours.
PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This program is approved for 2.5 self-study continuing education hours. Full credit statement at: www.pesi.com/cpa-statement

PESI, Inc., #1062, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: January 27, 2026 - January 27, 2029. Social workers completing this course receive 2.5 Clinical continuing education credits.
Course Level: Intermediate Format: Recorded asynchronous distance. Full attendance is required; no partial credits will be offered for partial attendance.
Canadian Social Workers: Canadian provinces may accept activities offered by providers approved by the ASWB ACE program for ongoing professional development.
This self-study activity qualifies for 2.5 continuing education clock hours as required by many national and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Save your activity advertisement and certificate of completion, and contact your own board or organization for specific requirements.

This self-study course has been approved by PESI, Inc., as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #77553. PESI, Inc. is responsible for all aspects of their programming.
This self-study course offers 2.5 continuing education contact hours in the Counseling Services skill group. Full attendance is required; no partial credit will be awarded for partial attendance.
Handouts
| File type | File name | Number of pages | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual - Gender-Affirming Mental Health Care (5.4 MB) | 86 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Text Document | important-notice-florida-licensees - French (12 KB) | 1 Pages | Available after Purchase |
| Manual - Gender-Affirming Mental Health Care - French (5.4 MB) | 86 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Text Document | important-notice-florida-licensees - Italian (12 KB) | 1 Pages | Available after Purchase |
| Manual - Gender-Affirming Mental Health Care - Italian (5.4 MB) | 86 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Text Document | important-notice-florida-licensees - German (12 KB) | 1 Pages | Available after Purchase |
| Manual - Gender-Affirming Mental Health Care - German (5.4 MB) | 86 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Text Document | important-notice-florida-licensees - Spanish (12 KB) | 1 Pages | Available after Purchase |
| Manual - Gender-Affirming Mental Health Care - Spanish (5.4 MB) | 86 Pages | Available after Purchase |
Speaker
Margaret Nichols, PhD Related seminars and products
Margaret Nichols, PhD, is a psychologist, AASECT certified sex therapy supervisor and founder and first Executive Director of the Institute for Personal Growth, a psychotherapy organization in New Jersey specializing in clinical work with the sex, relationship and gender diverse community. She is the author of The Modern Clinician’s Guide to Working with LGBTQ+ Clients: The Inclusive Psychotherapist. Dr. Nichols is an international speaker and author of many articles on LGBTQ sexuality, transgender youth, kink, and consensual nonmonogamy, as well as co-director of Modern Sex Therapy Institutes Transgender Mental Health certification program.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Margaret Nichols maintains a private practice. She is also the co-director of the Modern Sex Therapy Institute Certification Program in Transgender Mental Health and co-editor for Clinical Practice Guidelines for Working with People With Kink Interests. Dr. Nichols receives compensation as a speaker for various organizations and royalties as a published author. She also receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. Dr. Nichols has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Margaret Nichols has no relevant non-financial relationships.
Additional Info
Program Information
Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)Access never expires for this product.
For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com.
Questions?
Visit our FAQ page at https://www.pesicanada.ca/faq or contact us at https://www.pesicanada.ca/contact-us.
Objectives
- Explain the history of the treatment of trans and nonbinary individuals and the conflicting approaches to treatment.
- Describe the differences in how children, adolescents and adults exhibit gender dysphoria.
- Articulate the principles of gender affirmative care and which interventions are appropriate with different populations.
- Appraise the arguments for and against interventions used with children and adolescents.
Outline
Background of gender affirmative care
- Historical/cross-cultural existence of trans people
- U.S. efforts: from medical condition to psychiatric diagnosis to validation
- Development of gender affirmative care, international perspectives
Commonly used terms
- Gender dysphoria across the life cycle
- Gender nonconformity in pre-pubertal children
- Adolescent gender dysphoria
- Adult trans/nonbinary identities
Principles of gender affirmative care
- Theoretical perspective
- Psychological/social interventions
- Medical interventions
Current controversies
- U.S. legislation
- Early childhood social transition
- Use of puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones in minors
- Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria – myth or reality?
- Detransition – prevalence and concerns
Risks and Limitations
Target Audience
- Counsellors
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Social Workers
- Physicians
- Psychologists
- Addiction Counsellors
- Nurses
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