4 Hours / 4 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Counseling Members of the Transgender and Gender-Expansive Community: Providing Culturally Responsive Care is presented by Cortny Stark, PhD.

Counseling members of the transgender and gender-expansive community requires a foundation of knowledge about the special issues faced by this population and a “lifelong process of engagement” (Wilkinson, 2014, p. 68) in the evaluation of self and social norms.

This program provides clinicians with an overview of the most recent developments in the field and the information necessary for proficient practice with the gender-expansive community.

Topics covered include:

  • Gender-affirming practices: From forms and assessments to honoring gender-expansive identities in the therapeutic space
  • Identification of transgender and gender-expansive identities in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood
  • Assessment of Gender Dysphoria
  • Gender-identity development for transgender and gender-expansive individuals
  • Understanding social and medical gender-confirming interventions
  • Ethical considerations when working with transgender and gender-expansive clients
  • Counselors use Reflective Practice (Larrieu and Dickson, 2009) and Cultural Humility (Tervalon and Murray-Garcia, 1998) to cultivate lifelong self-evaluation and evolving self-awareness

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

  • 1 Describe gender-affirming practices, from forms and assessments to honoring gender-expansive identities in the therapeutic space
  • 2 Describe Diagnostics and Statistics Manual-V (DSM-V) identification of transgender and gender-expansive identities in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood
  • 3 Describe how to assess/conceptualize Gender Dysphoria using both the diagnostic and informed consent models
  • 4 Describe how to conceptualize gender-identity development for transgender and gender-expansive individuals
  • 5 Describe 3-5 social and medical gender-confirming interventions
  • 6 Describe ethical considerations when working with transgender and gender-expansive clients
  • 7 Describe Reflective Practice (Larrieu and Dickson, 2009) and Cultural Humility (Tervalon and Murray-Garcia, 1998) to cultivate lifelong self-evaluation and evolving self-awareness

  • Intended Audience

    This training is designed for helping professionals who want to deepen their understanding and skills in providing culturally responsive, gender-affirming care to transgender and gender-expansive clients. Emphasizing best practices in assessment, advocacy, and therapeutic interventions across the lifespan, the program equips participants to support LGBTQ+ individuals with practical tools for affirming therapy, comprehensive assessments, and guidance through social and medical transitions.


    Examples of Relevant Professionals:
    • Mental health professionals (therapists, counselors, psychologists, social workers)
    • Medical and healthcare providers (nurses, physicians, physician assistants)
    • School counselors and educators
    • Case managers and community support workers
    • Other helping professionals serving transgender and gender-expansive clients

  • Experience Level

    This training is designed for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals at various stages of experience in working with transgender and gender-expansive clients.

    • Beginner: Clinicians who are new to working with transgender and gender-expansive clients and are seeking foundational knowledge of gender-affirming practices, terminology, and ethical considerations.

    • Intermediate: Clinicians with some experience or prior training in gender-affirming care who are looking to deepen their understanding of assessment, identity development, and reflective practice with transgender and gender-expansive individuals.

  • Practice Setting

    Participants work in clinical, educational, and community environments, delivering gender-affirming services through both in-person and virtual care. They practice in multidisciplinary, client-centered settings where assessment, therapy, care coordination, and advocacy are integrated across the lifespan.


    Examples of Practice Settings:
    • Outpatient behavioral health clinics and private practices
    • Primary care and specialty medical clinics
    • Hospital-based programs and integrated health systems
    • School-based counseling centers and K–12 districts
    • College and university counseling services
    • Community-based organizations and LGBTQ+ centers
    • Social service agencies, shelters, and housing programs
    • Telehealth platforms and hybrid care models

Presented By

Cortny Stark, PhD Assistant Professor with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS)

Cortny Stark PhD (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) Department of Counseling and Human Services, and Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Fellow. Dr. Stark is the coordinator for the substance use and recovery counseling undergraduate and graduate emphases at UCCS, and the project director for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) substance use disorder practitioner education expansion program. Dr. Stark’s research foci include LGBTQQIA+ issues in counseling, advocacy for transgender and gender-expansive youth, public perception of professional counselors, and the integration of trauma processing models in the treatment of diverse populations. She currently facilitates behavioral health workshops with the Motivational Interviewing Training Center in Albuquerque, NM. Her workshops explore affirming care for transgender and gender-expansive community members, and trauma-informed ethical decision-making. In addition to academic pursuits, Dr. Stark practices as a substance use counselor, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) trained clinician with the Trauma Treatment Center and Research Facility in Rio Rancho, NM.

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Cortny Stark, PhD

CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here. 

  1. American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.

  2. Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.

  3. Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.

  4. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).



Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356 and the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT Professional Training, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.