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You don’t need to be a ‘specialist’ in order to help young people who are exploring their gender. In fact, following the assessment process, most of the therapeutic input is provided outside of GIDS, usually in CAMHS. Where possible we ask local CAMHS to stay involved alongside our team. When this happens GIDS clinicians are always available for liaison about specific cases.
Our service has developed some primary therapeutic aims (see our values and ethos) which we have used to guide our work. Clinical work with young people can take a variety of formats, including one-to-one sessions or increasingly group work where other young people alongside professionals can provide support. Follow this link for more ideas about how to work with young people and gender.
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Support
We support this by joining local network meetings, where we can participate in multi-agency discussions which may include the family and may also include the school. We can provide consultation and supervision, for example to professionals providing psychotherapy, around gender issues. We can also provide literature and further information relevant to gender identity and the young person we are seeing.
Any difficulties can be thought about together and a plan of action can be devised if necessary. We find that this approach allows for a more joined-up approach and for thinking about the young person in a holistic way.
We believe that the local CAMHS is usually best placed to monitor and manage any risk, such as self-harm and suicidal ideation. CAMHS are also in the best position to provide more regular therapeutic support to the young person and their family.
A typical network meeting would be held locally to where the child and family live, and would first involve professionals only with the child and family joining for the second part of the meeting. This provides an opportunity for information to be shared, to hear about the child in context, and to negotiate roles and responsibilities.
Please see this paper for more information about our multi agency working: Eracleous and Davidson (2009)
We work closely with schools to find ways to enable transgender or gender-questioning young people to thrive in education. Here are some useful resources for educators that provide examples of good practice of this work
The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust runs a number of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and introductory courses. They offer a broad spectrum of short courses and events that deliver high-quality Continuing Professional Development.
Read about all the CPD courses on the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust website
Working with children, young people and families CPD courses
CPD course: Working effectively with gender diverse children, young people and their families
Further resources and reading can be found on our evidence base page