Talking About the Anti-Trans Sociopolitical Climate with Transgender and Gender Diverse Children and Their Caregivers

Background Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) children and adolescents in the United States are currently experiencing an oppressive sociopolitical climate that is likely impacting their mental wellbeing. TGD children, defined as 5- to 10-year-olds, have the capacity to be aware of the anti-trans sociopolitical climate and, within the context of developmental readiness, TGD children and their caregivers may benefit from having conversations about the sociopolitical climate with a mental health provider. However, there are no clinical guidelines for how mental health providers may approach conversations about the anti-trans sociopolitical climate with TGD children and caregivers.Objective This article aims to fill this gap by providing tangible and clinically actionable guidance from a team of pediatric/child and adolescent psychologists with extensive clinical experience supporting TGD children in various clinical settings and geographic regions of the United States.Method We discuss existing literature on how to talk with children about other forms of oppression, emphasize the importance of a mental health provider being aware of their own emotions regarding the sociopolitical climate, discuss the importance of assessing where the family might be starting at with respect to awareness of and attitudes toward the sociopolitical climate, provide specific clinical guidance on how to talk about the anti-trans sociopolitical climate with children (and model these conversations for caregivers), and then provide specific clinical guidance on approaches to supporting caregivers. Throughout, there are clinical dialogs offering sample language between therapist and child/caregiver.Conclusion Future research is indicated to better understand how TGD children understand the anti-trans sociopolitical climate and inform intervention development and implementation focused on facilitating these clinical discussions.