How do transgender young people experience talking about trauma with services?

Abstract

Background: Transgender young people are more likely than their cisgender peers to experience trauma. Through talking about trauma, services may be able to support transgender young people to manage the impact of these events. However, research has highlighted that many trans people are concerned that disclosing trauma would be used to discredit their sense of their gender identity.

Aim: To explore how transgender young people experience having conversations about trauma with services and how they understand these conversations.

Method: Six semi-structured interviews were carried out with young transgender people. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used.

Results: The study found that all participants were aware of discourses linking experiences of trauma with transgender identities. All participants recognised these conversations as significant. Some experienced conversations to be supportive and transformative. Others found them deeply distressing, reminiscent of trauma experiences. Relationships with professionals seemed to influence these experiences, as did transphobia and relationships with other services.

Discussion: A trauma-informed approach should be used and professionals are encouraged to consider the potential for harm that can arise from these conversations, as well as the therapeutic element. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed, in particular considering the recently published Cass Review (2024).