Two experiences of increasing knowledge and sharing expertise with non-specialist mental health professionals: "Queering CBT in UK" and "Creating of non-pathologising discourse on SOGISC and alternative educational programs in RF"

Our workshop includes two experiences of increasing knowledge and sharing expertise with non-specialist mental and sexual health professionals.The UK experience: We were invited to present a day-long workshop for CBT... [ view full abstract ]

Our workshop includes two experiences of increasing knowledge and sharing expertise with non-specialist mental and sexual health professionals.

The UK experience: We were invited to present a day-long workshop for CBT practitioners in April last year. Our main aim was to increase knowledge and confidence for non-specialist mental health professionals working with LGBT clients. We discussed diversity in sexuality and gender identity, how CBT might be used in counteracting some of the effects of discrimination, stigma and oppression and thought about how sexuality and gender identity differ and overlap.

The RF experience: At the recent time in Russian Federation changes in sexological and psychological care system are planning. There are risks of pathologising approach to the variety of identities in care maintaining because of outdated professional education which is based on pathologising discourse, binary matrix and under the influence of discriminative laws. While getting sexological education in RF there is no enough attention to the SOGI items, intersex questions are practically absent, especially in frames of recent approaches. Psychologists-sexologists themselves admit that very often they don’t have enough knowledge and experience for effective interaction and care in the SOGISC field.

The UK experience: Our main aim was to increase knowledge and confidence for non-specialist mental health professionals working with LGBT clients.The RF experience: To create more contemporary, neutral and recent approaches... [ view full abstract ]

The UK experience: Our main aim was to increase knowledge and confidence for non-specialist mental health professionals working with LGBT clients.

The RF experience: To create more contemporary, neutral and recent approaches based discourse among professionals and to improve the quality of sexological and psychological care for transgender and intersex people and LGB we decided to conduct the series of workshops “Illuminator” on issues connected with SOGISC for practical psychologists-sexologists in partnership with Russian Scientific Sexological Society and “Coming out” LGBT group from St. Petersburg

The UK experience: This workshop is an opportunity to hear about what we learnt from the feedback from professionals and to think together about how clinicians working as specialists in this area can help develop... [ view full abstract ]

The UK experience: This workshop is an opportunity to hear about what we learnt from the feedback from professionals and to think together about how clinicians working as specialists in this area can help develop LGBT-affirmative skills in the wider workforce.

The RF experience: Educational program “Illuminator” was created on the base of experience of trainings for medical professionals in different EECA countries using the data of the 24th WPATH Symposium (Amsterdam) in frames of "Allies in action" project under the support of ILGA-Europe and COC Netherlands. It was included the questions of gender identity and sexuality varieties; experience, needs and complications of transgender people life; basic information on intersex issues, about people and their problems due to the incorrect medical help. During the summer 2016 there were held 3 workshops with more than 50 participating professionals – psychologists, sexologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists.

The UK experience: There is an ongoing need for training in this area and professionals in other services are keen to think about how they can support their LGBT clients in other psychological work.The RF experience:... [ view full abstract ]

The UK experience: There is an ongoing need for training in this area and professionals in other services are keen to think about how they can support their LGBT clients in other psychological work.

The RF experience: There’re still actual prejudices, domestic and institutional phobias against transgender people, intersex and LGB in the country. There’re no national guidelines and standards of care. That’s resulted in professionals’ hesitation to be associated with people from such groups and shows the necessity of interaction reforming through the prism of actual approaches and on the base of WPATH standards. Sensitization of professionals and teaching them the non-rating helping approach could be better provided in the partnership of professional communities with experts from transgender, intersex and LGB people.

The UK experience: There is an ongoing need for training in this area and professionals in other services are keen to think about how they can support their LGBT clients in other psychological work.The RF experience:... [ view full abstract ]

The UK experience: There is an ongoing need for training in this area and professionals in other services are keen to think about how they can support their LGBT clients in other psychological work.

The RF experience: There’re still actual prejudices, domestic and institutional phobias against transgender people, intersex and LGB in the country. There’re no national guidelines and standards of care. That’s resulted in professionals’ hesitation to be associated with people from such groups and shows the necessity of interaction reforming through the prism of actual approaches and on the base of WPATH standards. Sensitization of professionals and teaching them the non-rating helping approach could be better provided in the partnership of professional communities with experts from transgender, intersex and LGB people.