Looking to the Year Ahead

What does it mean to start a calendar year that has become so strongly associated with efforts toward a more oppressive future? Can we separate 2025 from the “Project 2025” of it all? Even if we can, do we want to - or do we want to go into this year holding this part of it (and our resistance to it) at the center of our individual and collective purpose?

I ask these questions without complete answers myself. Where I am at with all this is that at sunrise on January 1st, I ran into a cold ocean - my first winter polar plunge. The idea came to me on a whim December 31st, as something that seemed kind of fun and thrilling and new. The morning of January 1st, it was colder than I anticipated and the reality of what I had intended to do was setting in and I was a little less motivated. Actually running into the ocean at daybreak wasn’t going to make a real impact on me or anyone else, but the symbolism of not backing down from something challenging felt important, so I did it. As I summarized on my personal social media, this act anchored me in the fact that while “I don't know what we will face in 2025, I intend to bring whimsy and determination and a belief in my/our ability to do hard things.” I am reminded of a quote (and a tattoo I have representing that quote) that perhaps I’ve shared on this platform before: “If life is a shipwreck, we must rescue as many as we can and we must remember to sing in the lifeboats.” (The quote comes from historian Peter Gay’s introduction to Voltaire’s Candide.) We must have fun and meaning and connection in our own lives, without abandoning each other (particularly those suffering the most) - and I’ll add, without abandoning our commitment to resistance.

In terms of our professional work and roles this year, I believe strongly in the importance of mental health/wellbeing care providers and systems rising to meet the challenges of an increasingly oppressed and distressed set of communities, including trans and nonbinary people. I am investing time in research and clinical projects aimed at this task, and am happy to announce that I will be launching three recurring consultation groups for clinicians working with trans and nonbinary clients and I will be teaching a five-day course on working with trans and nonbinary adolescents and young adults at Cape Cod Institute for the second year this July.

Consultation Groups

The new consultation groups are for you if you:

• are looking to improve your clinical skill and comfort when working with trans and nonbinary clients in psychotherapy,

• need a space to process challenging clinical situations and the way you are impacted by this work,

• want to engage in up-to-date resource sharing for yourself and your clients, and/or

• are seeking community with others who are moving into 2025 and the new administration prioritizing the wellbeing of TNB people.

There are three group options, each of which will have 6-8 participants:

The Biweekly Consultation Group will meet on Zoom the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month for 90 minutes, from 12-1:30pm Eastern. Each group session will include 10-15 minutes of check-in, 30-45 minutes of focused case presentation and discussion (with rotating presenters), 30 minutes of questions and brief case consultations from the group, and 10-15 minutes of grounding and planning ahead. Participating in this group will cost $150-300 per month ($75-150 per session), sliding scale, and I’m asking for a 3-month commitment for group cohesion.

The Monthly Consultation & Education Group will meet on Zoom on the 2nd Friday of each month for two hours from 3-5pm Eastern. Each group session will include 10-15 minutes of check-in, 30 minutes of focused case presentation and discussion from two presenters (with group members rotating this task), 30-45 minutes of didactic presentation from Sebastian with Q&A, and 10-15 minutes of grounding and planning ahead. Participating in this group will cost $150-300 per month, sliding scale, and I’m asking for at least a 4-month commitment for group cohesion.

Finally, The Monthly Consultation Group for TNB Clinicians will meet on Zoom the 4th Tuesday of each month for 90 minutes from 4:30-6pm Eastern. This group is exclusively for trans and nonbinary-identified clinicians who would prefer to discuss clinical work in a group without cisgender peers. Each group session will include 10-15 minutes of check-in, 30-45 minutes of focused case presentation and discussion (with rotating presenters), 30 minutes of questions and brief case consultations from the group, and 10-15 minutes of grounding and planning ahead. Participating in this group will cost $75-150 per month, sliding scale, and I’m asking for a 4-month commitment for group cohesion.

Ideally, these groups will begin in February. To enroll in a group, please fill out the form on my website (https://transpsychologist.com/consultation-groups), and I will reach out to touch base and confirm. If you have questions, you can email me.

Teaching at Cape Cod Institute

Last year, I had an incredible experience teaching a 5-day, 15-hour CE course at Cape Cod Institute, and I am so glad they’ve invited me back for a second year. The course focuses on working with trans and nonbinary adolescents and young adults, with an anchoring in the reality of a shifting and difficult sociopolitical backdrop. Participants can join live online in a fully interactive format or come to the Cape and take the course in-person. The days are structured such that instruction ends at 12:30 Eastern so you have all afternoon and evening to work or enjoy the Cape.

Last year’s course was meaningful for both myself and for participants. This is a screenshot highlighting some of the positive feedback we received from folks last year, which you can also read at the course website: https://www.cape.org/courses/trans-and-nonbinary-adolescents-and-young-adults-sebastian-barr-2025

My current plan for the agenda, similar to last year’s course, follows:

Monday: Introduction

• Getting on the same page with shared language: Introduction to gender diversity and non-cisgender identities/experiences

• Reviewing framework of intersectionality

• Reflecting on positionality (i.e., our own identities, backgrounds, biases)

• Grounding in trans liberation, joy, thriving

• Hearing from trans young people themselves

Tuesday: Understanding trans youths’ mental health and needs

• Developmental tasks unique to trans young people

• Negative impacts of non-affirmation, bias experience, & hostile sociopolitical climate

• Protective role of familial support

• Critical resilience factors

• Potential co-occurring issues, including disordered eating

• The current state of trans competency in mental healthcare

Wednesday: Gender dysphoria, gender euphoria, & gender-affirming healthcare

• In-depth exploration of gender dysphoria and how this manifests in trans teens and young adults

• Known sources of gender euphoria and relief from dysphoria

• Overview of affirmation processes/steps, including medical affirmation, AKA gender-affirming healthcare (i.e., hormones, surgeries)

• Ethical and clinical considerations regarding gender-affirming healthcare, including letter writing for healthcare referrals

• Affirming clinical strategies for helping young people reduce distress related to gender dysphoria

Thursday: Effective and affirming psychotherapy

• Critical considerations in clinical work with trans adolescents and young adults

• (Mis)diagnosis and treatment planning concerns

• Applying principles of trauma-informed care

• Facilitating client-led/paced gender exploration

• Interventions and approaches that foster resilience and protective factors

• Strategies for supporting young people in hostile microsystems and sociopolitical climates

Friday: Looking beyond the therapy room

• Review ecological systems framework of risk and protective factors

• Working therapeutically with family, schools, and other microsystems

• Resistance efforts in states with harmful legislation and policy

• Envisioning and working toward better futures: Return to our grounding in trans liberation, joy, thriving

You can register and learn more about Cape Cod Institute here: https://www.cape.org/courses/trans-and-nonbinary-adolescents-and-young-adults-sebastian-barr-2025

Those are all the updates I have for now. I will say that I hope to write more essays on my substack this year, so you might want to subscribe to that to get emails when I post (it’s free): https://sebastianmbarr.substack.com/

And as a reminder, you can access a recording of my webinar on Supporting Trans and Nonbinary Clients with Post-Election Distress on my website: https://transpsychologist.com/webinar. There is a fee of $30, but if you or someone you know needs to access it for free, please email me.

As I sign most of my emails these days (very genuinely), I am so grateful for the work that each of you are doing to support our communities. And I hope you keep finding ways to sing in the lifeboats!

Sebastian