Shifting the Counselor Role from Gatekeeping to Advocacy: Ten Strategies for Using the Competencies for Counseling with Transgender Clients for Individual and Social Change

Abstract

In this article, the editors of the Special Issue of the Journal of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling on Counseling Competency with Transgender Clients summarize the themes of the articles within the special issue. The authors then discuss the future implications of these themes for counseling supervision and training, practice, research, and advocacy. Included in this discussion is a review of the areas of important focus that were “missing” in the Special Issue and how the counseling field may address these gaps in the literature. The article concludes with a list of 10 critical “next steps” for the counseling profession to take to ensure the American Counseling Association's Competencies for Counseling with Transgender Clients develop a transgender-positive counseling environment.

KEYWORDS:

• transgender
• counseling
• competency
• counselor supervision and training
• counseling practice