Improving mental health among transgender, gender diverse and non-binary adolescents

Overview

Transgender and gender diverse people (referred to collectively as 'trans' people here) are those whose gender is different from their sex assigned at birth. Trans people are often at a higher risk for poorer mental health outcomes than their non-trans peers, including higher than expected rates of psychological distress and suicidality (e.g., 48% of Australian trans youth report having attempted suicide). While some relevant mental health programs have recently been developed for trans young people overseas, currently there is limited evidence to support whether they are acceptable and effective for trans youth, and they have not yet been tested in an Australian context.

Our approach

There were two parts to this project.

In the first part, we aimed to co-design a group mental health program for trans youth attending The RCH Gender Service (RCHGS), which is based on a model of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and peer support. This involved collaborating with 8 trans young people who contributed their lived experience to the design of the program.

In the second part, we aimed to evaluate whether trans young people thought the mental health program was feasible and acceptable. This involved testing the program with 28 trans young people at RCHGS. The project has led to a funded randomised control trial of the program, which is a study that will be developed with trans youth to evaluate whether the program is effective at improving their mental health and wellbeing.