ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the role of art therapy as a non-pathologizing and gender-affirming intervention for transgender youth, who as a group report increased mental health concerns when compared to their cisgender peers. By presenting case material from a community-based intervention conducted shortly after the 2016 United States presidential election, the author describes the impact of community support and affirmation, culturally attuned providers, and the role of art-making in self-definition and actualization. The author describes the how art therapy as a modality may be particularly culturally attuned to the needs of this population, untethered by gendered language. The chapter includes culturally relevant and gender-affirming clinical considerations a therapist might incorporate when providing treatment to transgender young people.
