When: Sep 4, 2025 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Overview: Transgender and gender diverse youth are at increased risk for anxiety, depression, and suicide. Parent support and acceptance is a critical protective factor in the mental health of these young people, including the prevention of self-harm and suicide. Like their children, parents and caregivers of gender diverse youth face unique challenges—social stigma, grief, fear and uncertainty, and responsibility for decisions about how best to support their child. Parents often feel alone and isolated, which can lead to shame and self-doubt. Holding all of these difficult emotions while also accepting and supporting a transgender child can be quite the balancing act.
Psychological flexibility in the context of parenting is the ability to act consistently with parenting values in the presence of parenting-related distress, while inflexibility is characterized by an over-reliance on avoidance and preoccupation with self-judgments related to parenting. Interventions aimed at building willingness around difficult emotions and clarifying parenting-specific values are therefore well-suited for supporting parents of transgender youth, both in regard to their own wellbeing and their ability to accept and support their children. This webinar will describe strategies for promoting psychological flexibility among parents in general and more specifically among parents of transgender and gender diverse children and adolescents.
Audience: Social workers who work with families; all levels of CBS knowledge
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the difficult emotions faced by parents of transgender youth as well as specific barriers to support and acceptance among these parents. 2. Recognize psychological flexibility and inflexibility specifically in the context of parenting. 3. Apply interventions aimed at improving psychological flexibility to working with parents and caregivers of transgender and gender diverse youth.
About Presenter:
Dr. Danielle Moyer is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at OHSU within the divisions of psychology and endocrinology. She is a licensed psychologist in the state of Oregon and the Director of Psychology for the OHSU Doernbecher Gender Clinic, which serves the medical, social, and mental health needs of transgender and gender diverse youth and their families. Her work involves clinical service, individual and systemic advocacy, training and education, consultation to medical and mental health providers, and clinical research. In addition to pediatric gender affirming healthcare, Danielle also specializes in mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions for youth and families.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/pKdOdA9cQaSFCuvUkDKfvg
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.