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Chapter 18: EMDR Therapy as Affirmative Care for Transgender and Nonbinary Clients

DOI:

10.1891/9780826163424.0018

Authors

  • Chang, Sand C.

Abstract

Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people have a gender identity that does not fully align with the sex they were assigned at birth. This chapter introduces the basic concepts and terms related to the experiences and lives of TGNC people. Common misconceptions are addressed in order to build a basic awareness of the needs of TGNC people. The chapter discusses the ways in which TGNC people are affected by transphobia or antitrans bias, ranging from microaggressions to overt acts of violence. It describes the various ways that eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy may be used to help provide affirmative care when working with TGNC people. Finally, a clinical example is used to illustrate the application of EMDR therapy and the use of a resource development and installation (RDI) protocol to assist TGNC people in healing experiences of trauma.