Supporting children and young people through gender-affirming care

Gender diverse children face unique stressors that impact their mental health at greater levels compared to their peers, including bullying, harassment, discrimination and abuse. Their support network – comprised not only of family and friends but also support services – is crucial to their wellbeing.  

Many families report difficulty finding services that can support their gender diverse child or even negative experiences when they do engage with services. Practitioners may feel underconfident or unable to provide support if they have never completed any formal training in gender-affirming practice. However, practitioners who work with children have many existing skills in their toolkit that can aid them in providing the acceptance and responsiveness that gender diverse children and young people need.      

In this episode, host Nicole Rollbusch talks to Professor Damien Riggs about gender-affirming practice. Damien is a professor in psychology at Flinders University and the author of over 200 publications on gender, family and mental health. He is also a psychotherapist who specialises in working with transgender young people. Drawing on his experiences, Damien speaks with Nicole about how practitioners working in general health and social services can use their skills to work with children in gender-affirming ways that support their mental health and wellbeing. He also explores how practitioners can seek learning opportunities to increase their knowledge and confidence in working with gender diverse children and young people.

In this episode, you will learn about:  

• when families might seek support from practitioners and services [02:49] 

• the mental health challenges children under 12 may face when exploring their gender and how these are linked to their environment and support network [03:52]  

• working with parents of gender diverse children [06:01] 

• challenges that can arise when working with children and families [08:05] 

• what is gender-affirming practice and its benefits for children and their families [09:59]  

• what might prevent or interfere with practitioners working in gender-affirming ways [12:24] 

• where practitioners can start when they want to build their confidence in providing gender-affirming care [14:01]  

• the transferrable skills practitioners have that can support gender-affirming practice [15:16] 

• what practitioners can do if they would like to specialise in working with gender diverse children, young people and their families [21:51] 

• the importance of joy [26:31] 

Further information and resources: 

From Emerging Minds: 

Supporting children and young people who identify as gender diverse [podcast episode for families] 

Working with trans and gender diverse children [podcast episode for practitioners] 

Other organisations with useful resources: 

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia: An organisation supporting healthy LGBTQI+, gender diverse and bodily diverse people throughout Australia. 

Mental Health Professionals Network (MHPN): An organisation highlighting networks and resources for professional development in mental health. 

Transcend Australia: An organisation supporting Australian families and trans, gender diverse and non-binary children and young people. 

Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH): The national peak body representing, supporting and connecting those working to strengthen the health, rights and wellbeing of all trans people (binary and non-binary).