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ng_moonmothMy gender counselor let me know at this week's appointment that they will be attending a professional conference in a couple of weeks, focused on nonbinary identities and best practices for interacting with, and providing therapy for, nonbinary patients. As one of their nonbinary patients, they invited me to contribute my insight regarding these topics.
Although I have my own opinions on these matters, which I am busy writing down and passing on, I recognize that the very nature of nonbinary gender identity means that those are merely my own opinions, influenced by how I view my specific gender identity and nonbinary gender identities. I am only the unquestioned authority on my own gender identity, not on anyone else's. So, in the name of improving the counseling experience and results for all nonbinary people, I invite every nonbinary person who reads my blog to provide their viewpoints, to be forwarded on to my gender therapist for use at the conference.
To keep things manageable, I'd like to restrict the range of things being covered to two main points:
1. What do you consider most important for gender therapists to know about nonbinary gender identities?
2. What things are of greatest benefit to you as you interact with a gender therapist?
There are currently two topics on my list. The first one is for there to be guidelines that recognize that "nonbinary" is a category of gender identities. The category is the exact opposite of monolithic: everyone with a nonbinary gender identity has their own unique idea of what that means to them, and what matters to them. (I personally believe that is true for everyone, but that is only how I feel on the matter.) This should be noncontroversial and nonnegotiable.
The second topic concerns representation. Recommendations promulgated entirely by people who lack the experience of being nonbinary in a relentlessly binary culture will inevitably fail to reflect the lived experience of those of us who face that challenge every day. I don't know how likely that is, but I would be especially wary of any recommendation put forth by an entirely cisgender panel.
I will add more to this list as I come up with them.
So, here's your chance to provide input into the process of mental health care for nonbinary people. I will have to summarize and forward the results by Wednesday, August 10, so be sure to comment or DM me in time for me to do that. Yes, you may distribute this to any nonbinary people you know. I am actively seeking as broad a range of experience as I can manage.
I will be screening comments for this post for the sake of privacy. If you would like me to unscreen your comment, please let me know. Forwarded comments will be pseudonymized ("NB1", "NB2", etc. rather than DW handles),
Thank you to all who choose to help me in this matter!
Although I have my own opinions on these matters, which I am busy writing down and passing on, I recognize that the very nature of nonbinary gender identity means that those are merely my own opinions, influenced by how I view my specific gender identity and nonbinary gender identities. I am only the unquestioned authority on my own gender identity, not on anyone else's. So, in the name of improving the counseling experience and results for all nonbinary people, I invite every nonbinary person who reads my blog to provide their viewpoints, to be forwarded on to my gender therapist for use at the conference.
To keep things manageable, I'd like to restrict the range of things being covered to two main points:
1. What do you consider most important for gender therapists to know about nonbinary gender identities?
2. What things are of greatest benefit to you as you interact with a gender therapist?
There are currently two topics on my list. The first one is for there to be guidelines that recognize that "nonbinary" is a category of gender identities. The category is the exact opposite of monolithic: everyone with a nonbinary gender identity has their own unique idea of what that means to them, and what matters to them. (I personally believe that is true for everyone, but that is only how I feel on the matter.) This should be noncontroversial and nonnegotiable.
The second topic concerns representation. Recommendations promulgated entirely by people who lack the experience of being nonbinary in a relentlessly binary culture will inevitably fail to reflect the lived experience of those of us who face that challenge every day. I don't know how likely that is, but I would be especially wary of any recommendation put forth by an entirely cisgender panel.
I will add more to this list as I come up with them.
So, here's your chance to provide input into the process of mental health care for nonbinary people. I will have to summarize and forward the results by Wednesday, August 10, so be sure to comment or DM me in time for me to do that. Yes, you may distribute this to any nonbinary people you know. I am actively seeking as broad a range of experience as I can manage.
I will be screening comments for this post for the sake of privacy. If you would like me to unscreen your comment, please let me know. Forwarded comments will be pseudonymized ("NB1", "NB2", etc. rather than DW handles),
Thank you to all who choose to help me in this matter!
