Supporting Well-Being in Gender-Diverse People: A Tutorial for Implementing Conceptual and Practical Shifts Toward Culturally Responsive, Person-Centered Care in Speech-Language Pathology

Abstract

Purpose: Gender dysphoria is commonly conceptualized as a mental disorder in gender-diverse people who do not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth. Direct support for well-being tends to be delegated to the field of mental health (MH), whereas speech-language pathology (SLP) practice is charged with modifying gender-diverse people's voice and communication in the belief that well-being will improve as a byproduct. However, with the introduction of the minority stress model, gender dysphoria is now understood as the result of sociocultural processes of stigmatization, pathologization, coping, and resilience, and it is to be addressed by all professions providing transgender health services. The purposes of this tutorial are to examine practices in SLP in light of the current conceptualization of gender dysphoria and guide speech-language pathologists in their role in supporting the well-being of gender-diverse people.

Method: We reviewed the SLP and MH literature in the topic area to compare the two disciplines' conceptualizations and approaches to professional support for gender-diverse people.

Results: We propose a transdisciplinary, person-centered, and culturally responsive approach to SLP practice that directly attends to minority stress, microaggressions, coping skills, and resilience factors.

Conclusions: It is not sufficient for speech-language pathologists to delegate support for well-being in gender-diverse people to MH practitioners. Rather, speech-language pathologists need to be proactive in taking responsibility for supporting their clients' well-being based on each individual clinician's knowledge, skills, and capacity to do so. We recommend addressing barriers and facilitators of gender-diverse people's well-being both within SLP as a professional culture and by adapting the clinician's own professional practice.