Browsing by Subject "yhteistyösuhde"

Objective. Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) individuals are exposed to many different stressors due to their gender minority status. This makes them more vulnerable to mental health problems, and a comparatively large number of TGNC people use psychotherapy services during their lifetime. Studies have shown that starting psychotherapy can be a difficult and vulnerable time for TGNC people, and that seeking psychotherapeutic help can be delayed due to the fear of therapists’ reactions. Affirmative psychotherapy has been proven to raise TGNC people’s quality of life and lessen gender dysphoria. There is a comparatively small amount of research concerning TGNC people in psychotherapy. The objective of this review is to examine which factors affect TGNC peoples’ experiences in psychotherapy and the alliance between the therapist and their TGNC client. Methods. The literature for this review was searched on Google Scholar using combined keywords “transgender”, “affirmative” and “psychotherapy”. Studies using terms “therapy” or “counselling” in place of “psychotherapy” were also included. Results and conclusions. The working alliance between a therapist and their TGNC client was positively influenced by the therapist’s conscious and affirming attitude to the client’s gender. If the client’s gender was either avoided or overfocused upon, the working alliance suffered. A good working alliance was described as empathetic, supporting, accepting and safe. Addressing systems of power and the effects of minority stress can be helpful in affirmative psychotherapy. Minority stress and its effects originate from the surrounding society and cannot be solved in classic individual psychotherapy. It might be time to ask what psychologists and psychotherapists can do to affect the systems that cause minority stress.