Treatment of a transgender client with schizophrenia in a public psychiatric milieu : a case by study by a student therapist / Noel R. Garrett

N. Garrett

This case presentation discusses an unusual clinical experience for a psychology student in training. It addresses the role of gender identity in the treatment of a transgender person with major mental illness receiving care in a public psychiatric milieu. The example here describes one of a few open male-to-female individuals on the caseload of the milieu. The client regularly discussed her view that she had not been understood in prior therapy settings, all of which have been public psychiatric facilities. Working with this patient provided a glimpse into an unusual system where the gender identity component was relevant to the overall planning and execution of treatment. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals may be resistant to disclose details of their sexual identity to therapists in public settings for fear of being rejected, abandoned, or further diagnosed as sexually deviant. While most public psychiatric facilities have diverse caseloads, it appears that LGBT issues, specifically those of transgender individuals, may not be receiving the level of attention required to provide appropriate treatment to this population.[Copies are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Center. The Haworth Press, Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580, USA]