Discussion Questions (Critical Incidents pp. 223-224)

1. What are some of the messages you received while you were growing up about the “places” of men and women in society? What are some of the messages you have received about transgender women? Transgender men? What impacts might these messages about gender have on your clinical work?
2. How might you create space for your clients to explore their gender identities and expressions?
3. How might you convey to a new client during the intake process that you are aware of, open to, and knowledgeable about the existence of genders beyond male and female?
4. How might you convey to a new client early on in your work together that you are aware of and knowledgeable about systemic sexism, heterosexism, homophobia, and transphobia? How might you convey to a client that you are not overtly biased against gender-variant people?
5. Have you ever encountered a situation in which you did not know another person’s gender? If so, what was this like for you? What internal reactions did you have? How did you respond to the individual? What might you do if you are unsure about a patient’s gender?
6. What types of countertransference might you have when working with clients of various genders? How do you respond differently to men? Women? Trans men? Trans women? Gender-variant and genderqueer people?
7. What are some ways in which you could obtain ongoing information to continue to develop your knowledge and awareness of sexism and gender privilege?
8. How might you better incorporate issues of gender and privilege in your clinical work?
9. How do race and ethnicity affect the way you respond to persons of various genders? Notice what feelings come up for you during your interactions with men, women, gender-variant, and trans people of various racial and ethnic backgrounds.