Please Join us for this event on Tuesday February 13 from 6:30 to 8pm EST:

Gender Affirming Care and Referral Letter Writing with Meg McGrath, LICSW

This training is designed to empower mental health clinicians with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide competent and affirming care for individuals seeking gender affirming interventions. The training will focus on the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care version8, offering a comprehensive understanding of the guidelines that govern gender affirming care and the letter writing requirement for mental health professionals.  

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this workshop participants will:

- Recognize the importance of cultural competence in gender affirming care

- Gain familiarity with affirming approaches to care

- Understand the role of WAPTH SOC 8 and review the criteria and guidelines for writing letters of support for medical interventions

- Have the ability to apply the standards of care and letter writing requirements within their scope of practice to support client access to gender affirming care

Presenter Bio: 

Meghan McGrath, MSW, LICSW is the Behavioral Health (BH) Clinical Lead for Boston Medical Center’s GenderCare Center where they provide individual therapy, conduct surgical referral letter assessments, and serve as an advocate for and provide training about gender-affirming care across the healthcare system. Prior to joining BMC, Meghan served as an integrated behavioral health provider within primary care and family medicine settings at Fenway Health in Boston, MA. While there, they also oversaw the behavioral health department’s monthly continuing education program for the 85-person BH department and managed an annual advanced training program hosting candidates for behavioral health master degrees during their final year practicums. Additionally, Meghan previously served as a faculty member for the National TransECHO program providing clinical education and support to a cohort of more than 50 participants across 20 health centers within the contiguous United States, including Puerto Rico and Hawaii, all seeking to expand their ability to and capacity for providing gender-affirming care. As a faculty field liaison at Simmons University’s School for Social Work, Meghan worked to ensure the integrity of students’ field education placements, served as a resource to agency field instructors, and helped students achieve their educational goals within the field placement. They are also co-author of a chapter on gender identity emergence in adulthood within the first case-based, comprehensive textbook to address the unique health care needs of transgender and gender diverse adults. Meghan views training and education as a form of service to individuals, but also to the field at large and has sought opportunities to support learning communities throughout their career. Meghan earned their Master of Social Work at Smith College School for Social Work.

Selected References :

E.  Coleman , A. E.  Radix , W. P.  Bouman , G. R.  Brown , A. L. C.  de Vries , M.B. Deutsch , R.  Ettner , L.  Fraser , et al.  (2022) Standards of care for the health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8. International Journal of Transgender Health, 23:sup1, S1-S259, DOI: 10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644

Gardner IH, Safer JD. (2013)  Progress on the road to better medical care for transgender patients. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes;20(6):553-558.  PMID 24468757

Joseph, A., Cliffe, C., Hillyard, M., & Majeed, A. (2017). Gender identity and the management of the transgender patient: a guide for non- specialists. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 110(4), 144–152.

1.5 CEs have been applied for with MAMCHA, NASW, and NEAFAST 

Investment: $25 members/ $35 nonmembers

This event has been approved by NASW MA for 1.5 CEs 

NASW Authorization Number: D 92394