NR 606 Week 6 Discussion; Gender Dysphoria - Case; Robert a 16-year- old ...

Week 6 Discussion 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. PMH: suicidal ideations with no plan, anxiety, depression Education: online schooling due to bullying and not being allowed to wear female clothing Family Hx: Mother: depression, Father: bipolar disorder, sister: none, brother: anxiety 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). Nonpharmacological Management includes: 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. 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-topic group run by a trained facilitator for individuals who identify as transgender, gender variant, gender queer, or intersex” (Transgender, 2023). There are many groups