Course Description

*This complete Online Course includes a PDF of the book, Sexuality & Gender Diversity Training Program: Increasing the Competency of Mental Health Professionals, and the Final Exam. If you have access to the book and want to purchase the Final Exam only, click here.

With a growing number of people coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and a host of other gender and sexual identities, it becomes even more critical for mental
health professionals to receive the kind of training presented in this program. Participants will examine the difficulties in defining sexuality and gender diversity (SGD), the historical background including socialization, social representations of gender identity and sexual orientation, discrimination toward SGD individuals, and will receive training to increase competency in providing services to these individuals.

3 CE credits/hours, 30 questions

Target Audience

Psychologists | School Psychologists | Marriage & Family Therapists | Mental Health Counselors | Social Workers

Learning Level

Intermediate

Learning Objectives

  • Explain the difficulty of defining sexuality and gender diversity.
  • Discuss the SGD historical background, including socialization, social representations of gender identity and sexual orientation, and discrimination of SGD individuals.
  • Present an SGD training program for mental health providers.

Sections

  1. 1

    • Statement of Understanding (downloadable/printable)
  2. 2

    • PDF Book (downloadable/printable)
  3. 3

    • Final Exam Questions (downloadable/printable)

    • Final Exam
  4. 4

    • Evaluation Questionnaire

About the Authors

Rebekah A. Jackson, PsyD, Kathy A. McCloskey, PhD, PsyD, ABPP-CL, & Robin P. McHaelen, MSW

Rebekah A. Jackson, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist working in private practice in Connecticut.  Dr. Jackson has been active in the area of sexuality and gender diversity (SGD) for the last 10 years, and provides trainings on SGD to mental health professionals as a consultant. During her doctoral work, Dr. Jackson was on the American Psychological Association for Graduate Students Committee on LGBT Concerns, and also served as Co-chair on the Connecticut Psychological Association’s Task Force on Sexuality and Gender Diversity.  She received the Catherine Acuff Research Award from the Connecticut Psychological Association in 2008 and the David L. Singer Diversity Award from the University of Hartford’s Graduate Institute of Professional Psychology in 2009 for her leadership and work in the area of SGD.Kathy A. McCloskey, PhD, PsyD, ABPP-CL, is an Associate Professor at the University of Hartford Graduate Institute of Professional Psychology in Hartford, CT.  Her specialties include domestic violence, trauma, forensic populations, and the training of doctoral-level clinical psychologists.  In 2006, she was the recipient of the Psychotherapy With Women Award conferred by the Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35) of the American Psychological Association for an article she co-authored concerning intimate partner violence.Robin P. McHaelen, MSW, is the founder and current Executive Director of True Colors, Inc. Sexual Minority Youth and Family Services, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization working to create a world where young people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are valued and affirmed.  Robin is the author of several articles on LGBT youth concerns and is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2009 Hartford Courant/Fox 61 Tapestry Award, the 2008 National Education Association’s Virginia Uribe Award for Creative Leadership in Human Rights, and the 2008 Social Worker of the Year by the Connecticut Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).  In 2009, she was chosen by NASW and Lambda Legal Education and Defense Fund to create and present a master train the trainer program to 40 master trainers around the country.