I had the pleasure of offering a 2-day experiential training in group therapy as part of the American Group Psychotherapy Association’s national conference, Connect 2025, in San Francisco. It was delightful to spend two days connecting with other queer, trans, and neurodivergent clinicians and supporting them in growing their group therapy skills.
In this training experience, I integrated Leticia Nieto’s social justice developmental skills model into understanding how to support queer, trans, and neurodivergent folks. The didactic materials and group experience also integrated the common factors in group therapy (Yalom & Leszcz, 2020).
Together, we created a space for neurodivergent people to feel comfortable unmasking, and we took time to discuss the different identity positions in the group. This helped create safety, cohesion, and healing conversations around differences. As we all shared queer and/or trans identity positions, we were able to create a space for empowered community discourse (cf. Dr. Nieto’s model).
It was an honor to be on the teaching faculty at this event, and to be the first to offer a queer, trans, and neurodivergent-specific 2-day training institute at AGPA. Looking forward to creating more community together!