Discover Your Own Gender Journey & Build Better Connections with Your Gender Expansive Child
This workshop is designed to help you better understand your child’s experience and find language to talk about gender expansiveness with others by exploring your own relationship to gender.
We will use interactive exercises to look closely at your own experienced the development of gender, identity, the language you use to describe yourself and others, how gender gets communicated in your family & culture, and the impact of not fitting into the binary construction of gender.
We will use a contextual lens to look at intersections of identity and unpack the experiences when we hold multiple levels of marginalization. Through this process you will come to better understand your own gender narratives, how that impacts your experience of your child’s gender exploration, and how you parent.
WHO’S LEADING THIS?
Jill Rees, PhD (all pronouns) is a seasoned licensed psychologist with over 20 years of experience in individual and family therapy. They have pioneered gender-affirming care through various roles, including private practice, as a clinical director in residential treatment, and as an Associate Director for Behavioral Health at a Federally Qualified Health Center, including establishing a gender expansive services clinic in collaboration with medical providers.
As a trainer, Dr. Rees is known for using warmth and humor to elicit participant insights while providing practical, evidence-based guidance. Their collaborative and playful approach helps individuals lead more authentic lives, whether they are seeking personal change or improving relationships.
Currently, Dr. Rees is with Quest Family Therapy, offering support to teens, adults, partners, and families both in-person in Sebastopol and via video conferencing.
This workshop is about you…
so you can understand your own journey, your own beliefs, and facilitate your own healing! This will not only help with your own gender health, but it’s the most effective way to understand your kid’s experience and uncover things you may have been unaware were influencing you.
This workshop offers you a very personal experience unpacking your own gender development along with other parents, who are also navigating their own gender journeys, and gain tremendous insight that will impact how you parent your kids.
Why Is This Helpful to You?
In a Nut Shell:
Understanding your own Gender Journey and the cultural influences that have shaped your beliefs will help you be a better parent to your gender expansive kid and help heal some of the emotional upheaval that you may have experienced as you’ve travelled the TransFamily Gender Journey.
But why? What’s really going on?
Gender is a central construct in our current human experience and if you’re like the majority of parents raising a trans, non-binary, or gender expansive kid, your experience of gender “happened” naturally without questioning, whereas your kiddo seems to be going through a much bumpier process.
Well, if your inner sense of self as a gendered being matches the sex you were assigned at birth and your gender development happened to align with socially accepted norms you might not even be aware of your own gender journey (but you do have one, we all do!).
Gender expansive people are much more aware of this journey because of the incongruence they have experienced, whether physically or socially.
Now you may be wondering…
Why do I need to understand my gender journey since I’m ok with my gender?
Maybe ignorance is bliss, but if you’re raising a gender expansive kiddo, ignoring this may negatively impact the way you parent them and your ongoing relationship with your child.
After you’ve become gender informed and gathered all the information you can around gender and what your child may need, it’s time to spend a little time on your own experiences.
An important phase of Gender Healing which is Phase 3 on the TransFamily Gender Journey is understanding your own journey, including the cultural and social narratives that influence you.
This important healing for both you and your child. It’s through this part of the journey that you understand why you have the feelings you do about your child’s gender journey, and whatever your beliefs, find better ways to parent them in the process.
Some have even said it was fun, and all parents report that this work was absolutely necessary!
What Participants Found Most Helpful
I found the breakout rooms helpful in gaining a deeper understanding of some of the challenges other parents/caregivers were experiencing vis a vie their loved ones, and how best to advocate on their behalf. It also allowed time to dive deeper into the topic being discussed. For me, I like to get into the weeds and essence and have found that can be difficult at times with a large group.
Alexander R., parent
I appreciated hearing other parents’ concerns and experiences as well as those from providers. Being able to participant in the workshop with questionnaires was revealing and poignant. Although parents and providers weren’t supposed to group together, we did, and I found hearing their perspectives was valuable just as much as hearing from other parents.
Dianne T., parent
I appreciated being able to hear other parents and providers talk about their experiences with trans kids, whether their own or otherwise. Seeing the reactions of other parents when someone else says something that rings a bell of truth to them also felt supportive like everyone was in the same boat. In the breakout groups we found it helpful to have a pop-up reminder of how much time we had left.
Lesli M., parent
The small group discussions were very helpful. I appreciated hearing from both parental and clinical views on subjects of gender biases and leveraging privilege. I also found the materials presented to be very useful in framing the topics discussed. Finally, Dr. Giammatei’s exceptional navigation of nuanced and emotionally-laden topics was an honor to witness and learn from.
Anne T., parent
Being able to explore perceptions, thoughts, and feelings around a variety of topics and have in depth conversations with others around them.
Joanne F., parent
The preparatory homework was really helpful as was the pre-workshop webinar that i viewed as a recording. i watched most of it. the pre workshop activities helped me get familiar with the material and help myself to get into a helpful headspace.
Kevin B., parent
