title: Serving Transgender Youth: Challenges, Dilemmas and Clinical Examples.
abstract: Historically, many gender variant individuals have lived in a chronic state of conflict between self-understanding and physical being, one in which there was a continual misalignment between others' perceptions of them and their internal self-perception of gender. Only recently have professionals from mental health and medical realms come together to provide services to these youth. This paper describes an innovative program: the first mental health and medical multidisciplinary clinic housed in a pediatric academic center in North America to serve the needs of gender variant youth. We describe our model of care, focusing on the psychologist's role within a multidisciplinary team and the mental health needs of the youth and families assisted. We highlight clinical challenges and provide practice clinical vignettes to illuminate the psychologist's critical role.
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: Amy C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Tishelman
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: Randi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.affiliation: Pacific University School of Professional Psychology.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Edwards-Leeper
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital.
authors.forename: Francie H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Mandel
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital.
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Shumer
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: Norman P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Spack
keywords: adolescent; gender dysphoria; gender non-conforming; transgender; youth