Serving Transgender Clients in Holistic Health Parts I and II
(3-hour/3 CEU* each)
Transgender identity is becoming more visible in our culture. As a result, more individuals are feeling comfortable disclosing their identity and living as their true gender expression in their daily lives. For service providers in the helping professions, this means that more transgender clients are seeking massage and other forms of therapeutic touch and holistic healthcare. Transgender clients need culturally competent providers who are aware, affirming, and empowering of their transgender identity as well as knowledgeable in how to address the unique health issues related to their gender non-conforming body.
Part one of this lecture and discussion course will discuss the responsibilities of providing transgender-affirming care and teach the interpersonal skills needed to be respectful and affirming of transgender clients' identity.
Part two will identify some of the unique health issues of transgender clients and explore techniques that support them in making medical and non-medical transitions from their gender assigned at birth to their true gender identity.
Queer Practitioners Serving Transgender Clients in Holistic Health Parts I and II
(3-hour/3 CEU* each)
Open to LGBTQIA and NB practitioners in all types of holistic, medical, movement, mental health, etc.
This course is an adapted version of the introductory for practitioners who are already have extensive experience in their personal and/or professional life with transgender and non-binary identities. The format is facilitated discussion.
We will discuss the responsibilities of providing transgender-affirming care and strategies of creating inclusive practices and affirming transgender and non-binary clients' identity. Discussion will address unique health issues of transgender clients and explore techniques that support them in making medical and non-medical transitions.
This also serves to seed a network of queer providers that will hopefully be able to create a richer referral network to support the trans and non-binary community.
Bodywork to Support Clients Who Chest Bind
24 CEU
Chest binders are garments worn under the clothes in order to flatten the chest as a means of aligning a person’s outward gender expression with their gender identity. This course is designed to teach massage therapists (and professionals in related manual therapy fields*) a basic understanding of chest binding, impact on the musculoskeletal system, proper intake with a client experiencing binding pain, draping and techniques to mitigate and prevent chronic pain from binding. This course includes a community clinic in which clients who bind will receive free massage and give students an opportunity for real world practice of these techniques. Massage can have a significant impact on the quality of life & health outcomes of clients who bind their chests, this training is a valuable skillset for therapists wanting to serve transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming clients.
The techniques taught in this class are rooted in the structural integration approach and rely on a working knowledge of the fascial system. Brief explanation of the fascial system and the thoracic anatomy will be given but participants should have basic proficiency in anatomy and some prior exposure to the fascial system.
*all CEUs awarded through NCBTMB
Gender Identity Decoded
Open to all who are open-minded
Two things that are hard for most people: unlearning habits and learning languages. Join Frances in a compassion-filled environment where you can get your questions answered about gender identity, learn the ins and outs of how to talk about gender in affirming ways, and walk away with concrete strategies to practice your new language (because we all know that new languages are ‘use it or lose it’!)
This is a class for parents, teachers, grandparents, ministers, yoga instructors, health providers, school bus drivers, day care providers, baristas, HR professionals, siblings, best friends, spouses, bosses, and… and… and….
Healthy Binding from the Start
Open to people who bind, are considering binding, providers and friends and family
Chest binding is an essential part of battling dysphoria and feeling seen in the world as a gender non-conforming person. It also taxes the body and comes with real health risks. Frances is a trans*-identified, non-binary massage therapist who binds and understands both this liberation and these limitations. The class covers: choosing your binder, best binding practices, advice for binding with chronic pain conditions and suggestions for binding in special circumstances (swimming, working out, manual labor, etc)
Self-Massage for Binding
Limited to individuals who currently bind or have bound in the past
Binding (using a special garment or tight sports bra to flatten the chest) is a vital tool for many of gender non-conforming people. Unfortunately, it can have serious impacts on the body because of breath constriction, muscle tightness, and alignment. The class addresses chest opening, breathing expansion, upper back & neck release, and rib cage pain relief by teaching a variety of tools for mitigating the impacts of binding through self-massage, stretching and fascial release.
