“Clinical Supervision from a Gender Affirming Care Lens: The Foundations” is the inaugural course in a transformative training series designed to equip clinical supervisors with the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary to provide ethical, effective, and culturally competent supervision to trainees engaged in gender affirming care. This comprehensive six-hour course lays the groundwork for understanding the intricacies of gender diversity within clinical supervision and introduces participants to the foundational principles of gender affirming care, ethical considerations, legal frameworks, and the development of a supportive supervisory relationship.
In the rapidly evolving field of mental health, the demand for gender affirming care is increasing. Supervisors play a crucial role in shaping the next generation of mental health professionals who are competent, confident, and culturally sensitive in providing care to gender diverse individuals. This course addresses the critical need for supervisors to deepen their understanding of gender diversity, enhance their supervisory skills, and navigate the complex ethical and legal landscapes of gender affirming care.
This course is designed for clinical supervisors seeking to deepen their expertise in gender affirming care supervision and meet supervision licensing requirements. Through a blend of theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and experiential learning, participants will be empowered to lead their supervisees with confidence, competence, and compassion. The course not only advances the professional development of participants but also contributes to the broader goal of improving mental health services for gender diverse populations.
Who Should Take This Course?
This workshop is designed for mental health clinicians with two or more years of post-licensure experience, who work with gender diverse clients and supervisees, and are interested in developing or enhancing their clinical supervision skills from a culturally attuned, gender affirming care perspective.
What we will Cover:
The “Clinical Supervision from a Gender Affirming Care Lens: Foundations” course is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of key topics and skills essential for effective supervision in gender affirming care settings. Here’s what participants can expect to cover:
- Foundations of Gender Affirming Care: Introduction to the basic principles of gender affirming care, including terminology, concepts, and the importance of a gender affirming framework within supervision.
- Supervisory Relationship Development: Strategies for building strong, effective supervisory relationships that support the growth and development of supervisees providing gender affirming care.
- Developmental Considerations in Supervision: Discussion on balancing empowerment and directive guidance in the supervisory relationship, building a structure for supervision, and fostering autonomy while ensuring effective care.
- Ethical and Legal Frameworks: Detailed exploration of the ethical considerations and legal requirements relevant to gender affirming care and clinical supervision.
- Recordkeeping and Documentation: Best practices for ethical recordkeeping and documentation within the supervisory process, including considerations for malpractice insurance and legal responsibilities.
- Cultural Competence and Humility: Techniques for integrating cultural humility into supervisory practices, with a focus on understanding and respecting the diverse identities and experiences of supervisees and clients.
- Addressing Intersectional Oppression & Gender Minority Stress: Insights into the impact of intersectional oppression and gender minority stress on supervisees and strategies for creating a supportive, affirming environment that acknowledges and mitigates these stressors.
- Practical Scenarios: Engaging in scenario-based learning to apply concepts and strategies in practical, real-world supervisory situations.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the Gender Affirmative Model
- Describe and utilize a supervisory framework that is reflective, adaptive, and grounded in gender affirming care principles
- Reflect on one’s own experiences and narratives in the context of the supervisory relationship and how they influence supervisory practices and interactions with supervisees.
- Describe the gender affirming tools and methods for assessing supervisee competence, providing constructive feedback, and guiding supervisees in their professional development.
- Recognize and address gender minority stress and intersectional oppression for supervisees and clients, and incorporate strategies for open discussions within the supervisory relationship.
- Describe effective gender affirming approaches to address and resolve ruptures in the supervisory relationship, fostering a supportive and constructive environment for supervisees.
- Assess the unique needs of each supervisee, fostering an environment that encourages growth and development, and ensuring that supervisory interactions are supportive rather than attributive.
- Apply strategies for developing strong, gender affirming, culturally attuned, supervisory relationships that support the success of trainees
- Apply the principles of cultural humility and diversity in gender affirming supervision.
Analyze the impact of gender minority stress on supervisees and develop strategies to support supervisees experiencing these stressors within the supervisory relationship. - Identify and apply the laws and regulations applicable to psychologists, LMFTs, LCSWs, and LPCCs for the supervisor’s location with a specific focus on those practicing in California, including the supervisor’s responsibilities in ensuring that their supervisees’ practices are compliant with these legal standards, particularly in the context of gender affirming care.
- Describe and apply the ethics and best practices for recordkeeping and documentation within the supervision process, maintaining accurate and comprehensive notes, understanding the legal responsibilities associated with supervisorial documentation, and utilizing tools such as supervision note templates to streamline the process.
- Discuss the organizational structures for managing complaints, including third-party complaint mechanisms, and the importance of a clear, accessible process for supervisees.
7 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.
Who is leading this workshop?
Malakai Coté, PhD
Malakai Coté, PhD (he/him or they/them), is a licensed psychologist and executive director with expertise in holistic healing and interconnection. He holds a PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Oregon and has experience in university counseling centers and community mental health settings. Dr. Coté is the Executive Director of the Gender Health Center in Sacramento, CA, which focuses on ending the pathologization of trans people and improving healthcare access for Queer, Transgender, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (QTBIPOC). He also operates an independent practice in the Greater Sacramento area and provides clinical training and supervision at the Healing Space in Santa Barbara, CA. Additionally, Dr. Coté is a founding member and Vice President of the Greater Sacramento Association of Black Psychologists (GSABPsi).
His ethic of care is rooted in the principles and values of African-centered psychology and liberation psychology. He specializes in serving the diverse needs of Queer, Same-Gender-Loving, Trans, Black, Indigenous, Persons of Color across the lifespan. They have developed expertise in providing culturally specific and LGBTQ+ liberatory mental health services, clinical supervision, program development, and evaluation consultation services with community-based organizations. They also provide professional development and continuing education workshops addressing transgender healthcare, diversity, inclusion, and belonging across identity intersections, and African-centered healing approaches. Additionally, Dr. Coté is a trained yoga teacher, and they integrate gentle movement, meditation, and breathwork into their practice.
Dr. Coté was born and raised on lands stewarded by the Kickapoo and Kaw/Kansa peoples on Turtle Island. He proudly identifies as a descendent of the Mende peoples who resided in present-day Sierra Leone and his paternal and maternal ancestors survived enslavement. They are a spouse, guide parent, puppy parent, uncle, sibling, nephew, cousin, and adult child of two loving and hardworking parents with a solid extended kin core. They proudly and unapologetically identify under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. He is an active member of Beta Gamma Chi Fraternity, Incorporated.
Shawn V. Giammattei, PhD
Shawn V. Giammattei, PhD is a clinical family psychologist in private practice in Northern CA and the Associate Director of Mental Health for the Child and Adolescent Gender Center at UCSF, Benioff Children’s Hospital. He is the founder & CEO of the Gender Health Training Institute, which is dedicated to training providers in culturally attuned, trauma-informed, family-centered, gender affirmative care, the TransFamily Alliance, an educational, resource, and support community for parents with gender diverse offspring, and Quest Family Therapy, a group family therapy practice and training program in California focused on the intersections of queer & gender affirming care, family/community systems, Ecotherapy, and culturally attuned/trauma informed practices.
He specializes in family therapy with couples, families, and individuals across the lifespan, with a particular focus on transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive youth and their families. He is a GEI SOC8 certified Mentor for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and is on faculty for their Global Education Institute. He is also a trans-health researcher, author, international speaker, and professor teaching graduate and post-graduate courses in LGBTQ psychology and family systems. He is an advisory member of Mind the Gap, a group dedicated to gender affirming care for trans youth and their families, a past officer and board member of the American Family Therapy Academy and the Association of Family Therapists of Northern California, and the author of several articles and book chapters on gender, sexuality, and family work.
Dr. Giammattei’s mission in life is to be a bridge across difference to build community and heal separations: separations from self, from each other, from community, from the world, and beyond. He is passionate about leading people on deep personal journeys in Nature, and helping them integrate these experiences into their daily lives and relationships. He currently resides in Northern California on the ancestral and unceded lands of the Southern Pomo and Kashia people. He is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, identifies as a queer man who was assigned female at birth. He is happily married to his spouse of 32 years, is deeply connected to his family of origin, as well as his family of choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
The workshop is 8 hours long, including breaks and time for Q&A.
7 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.