Transgender Case Study: Shawn Roberts

Introduction The client to be discussed is Shawn Roberts. He is thirteen years old, of African American decent, and identifies as being male-to-female (MTF) transgender. At the beginning of treatment, Shawn had just finished the 9th grade of junior high as student at Radium Springs High School in Albany, GA. He has lived in Dougherty County with his single mother for his entire life. He doesn’t have any close friends nor extended family for support. He feels lonely and isolated, and struggles with depression. Shawn receives some support from his mother but struggles with peer group identification. Rather that returning to school, Shawn wants to be home schooled and begin his transition. In his youth, Shawn was outgoing and enjoyed being the center of attention around …show more content…
• counsel the individual about the range of treatment options and their implications.
• ascertain the eligibility and readiness for hormone and/or surgical therapy; if applicable, document the relevant history in a letter of recommendation.
• educate family members, employers, and institutions about gender identity disorders.
• be available for follow-up of previously treated gender patients.
The current medical model for the treatment of transgender individuals has an eligibility criterion that states an individual must have three months of therapy and/or three months of Real Life Experience (RLE), which is a process of living in the preferred gender role for a period of time in order to demonstrate that they can function in that gender