Group Proposal

Adolescent Gender Identity Support

Group
DeLante Fludd
School of Nursing and Health Professions, Trinity Washington University
COUN 640: Internship I
Dr. Kia James
Spring 2023
 ● Problem
● Rationale
● Literature Review
Agenda ● Setting & Materials
● Recruitment
● Theoretical Orientation
● Program Format

Adolescent Gender Identity Support Group 2

Problem
● Gender Identity
○ The perception one has of which gender they belong
to (Huusko et al., 2022)

● Gender Dysphoria
○ The experience of anxiety and stress when there is an
incongruence between one’s gender identity and one’s
assigned gender at birth

● Mental Health Issues

○ Increased risk of self-harm, anxiety, and depression
(Potter et al., 2021)

Adolescent Gender Identity Support Group 3

Rationale

● Politics
○ Criminalization of Gender-
Affirming Care (Martin et al.,
2021)
● Social Media (Cingel et al., 2022)
○ Community
○ Cyberbullying

Adolescent Gender Identity Support Group 4

Setting and Materials
Location
● Play Therapy Studio
● Washington, DC

Art Supplies
● Paper
● Colored Pencils
● Markers
● Paint
● Yarn
● Magazines
● Fabric
5
Theoretical Orientation

Expressive Arts Therapy Feminist Theory

• Allows for creative expression and a
cathartic release
• Allows trauma-informed care to exist
in a safe space
• Allows for the individual to display
their uniqueness
• Allows participants to explore and
understand gender identity better
• Allows participants to explore systems
and the role systems play on their life
and decision-making process

Adolescent Gender Identity Support Group 6

Program Format
• 5 week program
• Once a week for 2 hours
• Introduction/Warm-up 10
• Theater activity 30
• Break 5
• Dance activity 30
• Break 5
• Visual art activity 30
• Clean up/closing 10

7
Program Format

1 2 3 4 5
Introduction Body Awareness Looking Ahead The world we live in Closing
● group welcome ● Presentation for
● rules Activities will focus on Activities will focus on Activities will focus on friends/family
● structure participants gaining a ● Participants share
the identity of the the environment of the what they have
● introduction sense of body awareness participants and who they participants and how they learned with people
activities want to become interact with it of their choosing

Adolescent Gender Identity Support Group 8

References
Cingel, D. P., Lauricella, A. R., Taylor, L. B., Stevens, H. R., Coyne, S. M., & Wartella, E.. (2022). U.S. adolescents’ attitudes toward school,
social connection, media use, and mental health during the covid-19 pandemic: Differences as a function of gender identity and school
context. PLoS ONE, 17(10), e0276737. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0276737

Huusko, S., Tyolajarvi, M., & Kaltiala, R. (2022). Has general population adolescents’ body image changed alongside the increase in the need
for gender identity services?. Psychiatria Fennica, 53, 178-189. https://doaj.org/article/aba90bdf500b42efbd411856559b6f98

Martin, S., Sandberg, E. S., & Shumer, D. E. (2022). Criminalization of gender-affirming care — interfering with essential treatment for
transgender children and adolescents. The New England Journal of Medicine, 385(7), 579-581. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2106314

Potter, A., Dube, S., Allgaier, N., Loso, H., Ivanova, M., Barrios, L. C., Bookheimer, S., Chaarani, B., Dumas, J., Feldstein-Ewing, S.,
Freedman, E. G., Garavan, H., Hoffman, E., McGlade, E., Robin, L., & Johns, M. M. (2021). Early adolescent gender diversity and mental
health in the adolescent brain cognitive development study. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 62(2), 171-179.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13248

9
Thank you Questions?

Adolescent Gender Identity Support Group 10