Transgender/Nonbinary Gender - Affirming Care
Transgender/Nonbinary Gender - Affirming Care
Research demonstrates that gender-affirming care — a medical and psychosocial health care model designed to affirm individuals’ gender identities — greatly improves the mental health and overall well-being of gender expansive, transgender, and nonbinary patients.
Failure to adhere to these standards of care can contribute to the mental health struggles of transgender and nonbinary people, and also can cause an individual to avoid seeking care in the future.
A necessary component of gender-affirming care is using the pronouns (ex: he/him, she/her, they/them, etc.) for that person which affirms their gender identity. Failure to use the pronouns they give you, or referring to them in a way that does not align with their affirmed gender, is known as misgendering and is a form of discrimination.
You can make a powerful difference in someone’s life by affirming and supporting them, and those efforts decisively contribute to positive outcomes for patients.
For any questions or inquiries, please contact Jesse Gilbert at Jesse.Gilbert@disabilityrightsca.org.
The Peer Self-Advocacy Program does not provide legal counsel or advice.
Please contact Disability Rights California at 1-800-776-5746 for the most current legal information.
Peer Self-Advocacy Resources
Transgender Equity in Behavioral Health Settings Presentation (.pdf)
Transgender and Nonbinary Equity in Behavioral Health Settings (.pdf)
Gender Affirming Definitions (.pdf)
More Resources on Gender Affirming Care
For Clients:
Los Angeles
- LA LGBT Center
- Dept of Mental Health
- Southern California Transgender Counseling
- Trans Wellness Center
- UCLA LGBTQ Campus Resource Center
- UCLA LGBTQ Health Initiative Resources
- Gender Justice LA
- Gender Justice LA Resources
- ThePrideLA Resources
- NAMI
Virtual
Mental Health:
- Inclusive Therapists (General – Liberation Psychology lens)
- Fireweed Collective (General – Disability Justice lens and QTBIPOC-Centered)
- The Trevor Project (Youth)
- TransLifeline (General)
- Wildflower Alliance (General)
- Queer Asian Mental Health Club
- Strong Hearts (Indigenous clients)
- BlackLine (Black clients)
- Thrive Lifeline (General)
- LGBT National Help Center (General)
- LGBTQ Latinx Resources Guide
- Mental Health Liberation
- Asian Mental Health Project
- Therapy for Black Girls
- Black Men Heal
Healthcare
Mutual Aid
- Mental Health Liberation Therapy Fund (BIPOC Clients)
- Prism Foundation (AAPI clients)
- For The Gworls (Black clients)
- The Okra Project (Black clients)
- Project Rainbow Turtle (Indigenous clients)
- Genderbands (General)
- Point of Pride (General)
- Transitional Justice (General)
Legal Services/Information and Advocacy
- Legal Identity Documents Change in California
- Identity Documents Legal and Policy work
- Transgender Law Center
- Marsha P. Johnson Institute
- Sylvia Rivera Law Project
- Advocates for Trans Equality
- Trans Latin@ Coalition
- National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition
- National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
- Human Rights Campaign
Immigration Resources:
Elderly Clients:
Resources for Youth
- Trans Youth Equality Project
- GLSEN
- OutYouth
- TribalYouth.Org Resource Guide
- Native Youth Sexual Health Network
Other Resources:
- DontCallThePolice.com
- TransTech Social
- PFLAG
- Rainbow Guidebook
- FindHelp.org
- Southwest Indigenous Women’s Coalition
- Queer Asian Social Club
- AAPI LGBTQ Resources
Continued Education for Providers
Mental Health
- A Clinician’s Guide to Gender Affirming Care (Book)
- Social Work and Health Care Practice with Transgender and Nonbinary Individuals and Communities (Book)
- Liberation Psychology: Theory, Method, Practice and Social Justice (Book)
- APA – Gender Affirming Therapy
- Behavioral Health Care for Transgender People
- Preventing Trans Suicide: An Introduction for Health and Services Providers
General Medical Resources
- Creating Equal Access to Quality Health Care for Transgender Patients: Transgender-Affirming Hospital Policies
- Trans and Gender Diverse Resource Library (Provider’s Resources)
- LGBTQIA+ Health Education
- Affirmative Services for Transgender and Gender Diverse People –Best Practices for Frontline Health Care Staff
- WPATH Standards of Care, 8th Edition
- Collecting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SO/GI) Data In
- Human Rights Campaign
Statistics and Information
- 2022 US Trans Survey Health & Wellbeing Report
- National Transgender Discrimination Survey: Executive Summary
- The Public Health Crisis State of Transgender Health Care and Policy Ensuring Comprehensive Care and Support for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents Get the Facts on Gender Affirming Care National Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Hate and Intimate Partner Violence in 2017
- Clark, K. D., Bosse, J. D., Jackman, K. B., Brown, D., Dubay, J., Jewell, J., ... & Dawson-Rose, C. (2025). “I don't think I have been out of fight or flight. Ever.” transgender people's experiences in inpatient psychiatric treatment. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 105028
- Institutional Violence Perpetrated against Transgender Individuals in Health Services: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(8), 1106
- Clare, Eli. Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation. Durham: Duke University Press, 2015
- Kim, Eunjung. Curative Violence: Rehabilitating Disability, Gender, and Sexuality in Modern Korea. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2017