ABSTRACT
This chapter will explore techniques and approaches for clinicians working with transgender and gender non-conforming (T-GNC) individuals who experience gender dysphoria or are seeking to experience more gender affirmative embodiment in personal pleasure, social dynamics, interpersonal relationships, and identity expression. By taking an approach that aims at decolonizing gender, this chapter will provide the clinician the tools to assist clients in deconstructing the Westernized narratives around gender identity and mobilize the journey to self that is embraced in Indigenous understandings of gender identity and expression. While this chapter is aimed at T-GNC people of Indigenous or POC identities, the language and approaches in this chapter are effective for anyone seeking to move beyond a problematized understanding of their gender towards synthesizing a more liberated, self-constructed understanding of gender euphoria and personal expression.
