Using Systemic Polarities and Context-Reflexivity for Work with Gender Diverse and Transgender Young People

This workshop is based on an article in preparation. We will briefly describe the current background to therapy and healthcare in the clinical area of gender identity with young people. We take an explicit approach of respecting and valuing trans and gender diverse identities. We will consider systemic and wider theories, such as reflexivity, polarities and discourses, relevant in this field. The systemic model of semantic polarities will be applied and a diagram provided mapping some of the current polarities in this area. Participants may wish to add to these from their own experiences. The map aims to enable therapists and service users to navigate the discourses around gender identity which are often confused and conflated. Systemic clinicians are invited to consider context-reflexivity within their work. We will offer questions for use in supervision, multi-disciplinary case discussions, teaching and clinical work with families; to promote thinking, empathy and flexibility. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to experiment with the polarities - positioning and repositioning themselves in relation to a variety of contextual information. There will be a chance to share reflections and responses to the model.