Course Description

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people sometimes experience gender dysphoria in addition to co-occurring issues like PTSD, depression, etc. While EMDR therapy treats these comorbidities and has been adapted to help people with diverse experiences and identities, there is no EMDR protocol for conceptualizing and treating gender dysphoria among TGD people. This training seeks to fill that gap. By completing this training, participants will be able to conceptualize gender dysphoria through an adaptive information processing (AIP) lens and implement a model of EMDR therapy for reducing gender dysphoria (GD) in TGD persons.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to describe multiple theories for conceptualizing gender dysphoria and its treatment from an AIP perspective.
2. Participants will be able to Implement an EMDR model for reducing gender dysphoria in transgender and nonbinary persons.
3. Participants will be able to define gender dysphoria from clinical and systemic lenses.

Presenter(s)

Michael Kuffel, LCPC

Michael Kuffel, LCPC is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) in downtown Boise, ID. They identify as genderqueer and use they/them/theirs pronouns. Michael is an EMDRIA certified EMDR therapist and Approved Consultant. They currently work in private practice and are pursuing a PhD in counselor education at Oregon State University, with a special interest in working with sexual and gender minorities. Michael is available for therapy and consultation at www.emdrtherapyboise.com.