Addressing challenges in caring for gender-diverse youth in rural areas

As the number of youth exploring gender concerns has increased in recent years, so has the number presenting to child and adolescent psychiatry practices for care. Yet many clinicians feel inadequately trained to provide care for gender-diverse youth, who remain a significantly underserved population. Providers in urban areas may refer to specialty gender clinics, but the paucity of clinics in rural regions can effectively limit access for patients. Likewise, rural communities may lack visible resources to support gender-diverse youth. Gender-diverse youth are at increased risk for mental health problems, especially in stigmatizing environments, and experience higher rates of trauma than their cisgender peers. Thus, they may present with complex psychiatric symptoms but disclose their gender identity only after establishing care for other concerns. Attendees will learn about principles of gender-affirming psychiatric care and approaches to treatment that can be used by providers working outside of specialty gender clinics, along with information about resources for supporting gender-diverse youth in rural areas.