Week 6 Discussion
1. Being a teenager is already hard enough going through puberty and
all of life changes socially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. For
Robert a 16-year- old who was born male life never felt fulfilled and he
has never felt like the other boys. It all started at the young age of 5
or 6 when he realized he enjoyed playing with babydolls, wearing his
sisters’ clothes, playing in mom’s high heels, and when playing
“house” he preferred to be the woman roles. Whenever he would
describe himself he would always say that his body was the wrong
one, but it was just what he had. As he grew older, he realized he was
sexually attracted to men, so he thought to himself maybe I am just
homosexual, but as he continues to grow, he just knew something
did not feel right. Most recently he has grown his hair out to pass his
shoulders, began wearing “female” clothing all the time, likes jewelry,
makeup, and has been wearing and stuffing his bras for a more
feminine look. He has voiced to his parents that he would like to take
hormones to make him appear softer and more feminine as well as
pursue breast implants. His parents are “true Christians” and do not
support his beliefs in any way shape or form. His parents feel that he
was “born a boy, he must remain a boy”, transitioning to a woman if
not something that they support. He has a history of suicidal ideations
with no plan, depression, and anxiety which developed around age
8. Recently he has felt very unsupported and has been attending
high school online due to excessive bullying and not being allowed
to wear the clothing he would like to school since it was a Catholic
school.
a. PMH: suicidal ideations with no plan, anxiety, depression
b. Education: online schooling due to bullying and not being
allowed to wear female clothing
c. Family Hx: Mother: depression, Father: bipolar disorder,
sister: none, brother: anxiety
2. Treatment for gender dysphoria includes psychosocial therapy and
pharmacotherapy for underlying depression and/or anxiety, hormonal
therapy, non-genital and/or genital feminization or masculinization
operations (Anderson, et.al., 2022).
a. Nonpharmacological Management includes:
i. Psychotherapy: psychotherapy in this case would be
beneficial to help Robert manage his emotions and speak
with someone other than family so he does not feel
constantly judged for his feelings. A psychotherapist
provides support to the client and helps them work
through emotions that they may not be able to express to
his family especially in Robert’s case since his parents do
not believe in homosexuality or transgender roles.
ii. He may also benefit from group therapy so that he
understands he is not alone in the way he feels and there
may be other people who feel or think like him out in the
world. “The Transgender Peer Support Group is an open-
1. Being a teenager is already hard enough going through puberty and
all of life changes socially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. For
Robert a 16-year- old who was born male life never felt fulfilled and he
has never felt like the other boys. It all started at the young age of 5
or 6 when he realized he enjoyed playing with babydolls, wearing his
sisters’ clothes, playing in mom’s high heels, and when playing
“house” he preferred to be the woman roles. Whenever he would
describe himself he would always say that his body was the wrong
one, but it was just what he had. As he grew older, he realized he was
sexually attracted to men, so he thought to himself maybe I am just
homosexual, but as he continues to grow, he just knew something
did not feel right. Most recently he has grown his hair out to pass his
shoulders, began wearing “female” clothing all the time, likes jewelry,
makeup, and has been wearing and stuffing his bras for a more
feminine look. He has voiced to his parents that he would like to take
hormones to make him appear softer and more feminine as well as
pursue breast implants. His parents are “true Christians” and do not
support his beliefs in any way shape or form. His parents feel that he
was “born a boy, he must remain a boy”, transitioning to a woman if
not something that they support. He has a history of suicidal ideations
with no plan, depression, and anxiety which developed around age
8. Recently he has felt very unsupported and has been attending
high school online due to excessive bullying and not being allowed
to wear the clothing he would like to school since it was a Catholic
school.
a. PMH: suicidal ideations with no plan, anxiety, depression
b. Education: online schooling due to bullying and not being
allowed to wear female clothing
c. Family Hx: Mother: depression, Father: bipolar disorder,
sister: none, brother: anxiety
2. Treatment for gender dysphoria includes psychosocial therapy and
pharmacotherapy for underlying depression and/or anxiety, hormonal
therapy, non-genital and/or genital feminization or masculinization
operations (Anderson, et.al., 2022).
a. Nonpharmacological Management includes:
i. Psychotherapy: psychotherapy in this case would be
beneficial to help Robert manage his emotions and speak
with someone other than family so he does not feel
constantly judged for his feelings. A psychotherapist
provides support to the client and helps them work
through emotions that they may not be able to express to
his family especially in Robert’s case since his parents do
not believe in homosexuality or transgender roles.
ii. He may also benefit from group therapy so that he
understands he is not alone in the way he feels and there
may be other people who feel or think like him out in the
world. “The Transgender Peer Support Group is an open-
