[From Our Partners] The Transgender Healing and Resilience Initiative for Survivors of Violence: Final Evaluation Report

While historically facing disproportionately high rates of exposure to violence, transgender and gender non-binary (TGNB) folks also face barriers to accessing mental healthcare. To help fill this gap in service, the the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery (CTMS), with guidance from CUNY ISLG and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, created the Trauma Healing and Resilience Initiative for Transgender Survivors of Violence (THRIV).

This report presents the findings of a process evaluation of THRIV, which is designed to increase access to trauma-focused, gender-affirming therapy for TGNB survivors of interpersonal violence and trauma. This evaluation finds that, with the exception of a delayed rollout resulting first from an organizational shift and then from the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was implemented as per the intended plan. It exceeded its goals in terms of service and training delivery, received high satisfaction ratings from participants, and had profound impacts on the lives of participants.

In evaluating the program, researchers drew recommendations for future programs seeking to create trans-specific mental health services to fill this much-needed gap. Some of these recommendations included:

• Hire and on board staff who are a good fit for the program, including clinical staff who reflect participants’ identities.

• Create a participant-to-staff pipeline specifically to address the lack of representation of TGNB individuals working in healthcare and to ensure staff reflect participant identities.

• Take a nuanced and comprehensive approach to healing, recognizing that (1) the trauma and marginalization of being trans can permeate all facets of life. but also that (2) trans people are more than just their gender identity.

• Provide staff with the support and resources to receive trainings.

For a blog post exploring high-level findings, see here.