The Gender Quest Workbook: A Guide for Teens and Young Adults Exploring Gender Identity

by Rylan Jay Testa, Deborah Coolhart, Jayme Peta, Ryan K Sallans (Foreword by), Arlene Istar Lev (Afterword)

Overview

This one-of-a-kind, comprehensive workbook will help you navigate your gender identity and expression at home, in school, and with peers.

If you are a transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) teen, you may experience unique challenges with identity and interpersonal relationships. In addition to experiencing common teen challenges such as body changes and peer pressure, you may be wondering how to express your unique identity to others. The Gender Quest Workbook incorporates skills, exercises, and activities from evidence-based therapies—such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)—to help you address the broad range of struggles you may encounter related to gender identity, such as anxiety, isolation, fear, and even depression.

Despite outdated beliefs, gender no longer implies being simply male or female, but rather a whole spectrum of possibilities. This fun, engaging workbook is designed specifically for teens like you who want to explore the concept of gender and gender identity and expression—whether you already identify as TGNC or are simply questioning your gender identity.

The activities in this book will help you explore your identity internally, interpersonally, and culturally. And along the way, you’ll learn how to effectively express yourself and make informed decisions on how to navigate your gender with family, friends, classmates, and coworkers. The book also includes chapters on sex and dating, balancing multiple identities, and how to deal with stressful challenges when they arise.

The Gender Quest Workbook also features a brief downloadable guide for clinicians that explains ways professionals can better serve gender-expansive youth. The guide will address ways to help youth working with gender identity build resilience against gender minority stress, among other topics.

This book has been selected as an Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Book Recommendation—an honor bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626252974
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	12/01/2015
Series:	Instant Help for Teens Series
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Rylan Jay Testa, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and transgender man. He has served as an assistant professor, researcher, clinical supervisor, consultant, and trainer in the areas of trans and nonbinary mental health and resilience for over a decade. Testa now concentrates his efforts on healing and transformative clinical work, integrating psychospiritual and nature-based healing modalities. Testa’s work aims to support the inherent resilience of all life that is available in each of us, rooted in our authentic diversity of bodies, identities, experiences, and expressions.


Deborah Coolhart, PhD, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist, and assistant professor at the Syracuse University Marriage and Family Therapy program. Her clinical and scholarly work focuses on the strengths and challenges of transgender people and their loved ones, and she has published several journal articles and book chapters on transgender-related topics. Coolhart created a clinical team of master’s students who work specifically with transgender clients, their partners, and their families in a free university clinic—providing a valuable service to the transgender community in New York.


Jayme L. Peta, PhD, is a psychologist with clinical and research experience in improving health and wellness for trans and nonbinary youth and adults. Currently, Peta is faculty at the Wright Institute, and has published articles and chapters on the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in crisis and public mental health settings. Peta is also a trainer with the LGBTQ+ Clinical Academy, which provides in-depth training in LGBTQ+-affirming therapy and cultural competence for public and community mental health providers in the San Francisco Bay Area.


Ryan K. Sallans, MA, is a public speaker, diversity trainer, consultant, publisher, and author of the book Second Son. Sallans specializes in health care, workplace, and college campus issues surrounding the LGBTQIA community, with a specialized focus on the transgender community. For the past fifteen years, he has worked with organizations and universities on LGBTQ social issues, creating transgender-inclusive environments, and media literacy related to eating disorders, body image, and gender.



Arlene Istar Lev, LCSW-R, CASAC, is founder and clinical director of Choices Counseling and Consulting and TIGRIS: The Training Institute for Gender, Relationships, Identity, and Sexuality in Albany, NY. She is a lecturer at the University at Albany, and project director of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Project (SOGI). Istar is also clinical supervisor for Center Support Counseling Services at the Pride Center of the Capital Region. She is author of The Complete Lesbian and Gay Parenting Guide and Transgender Emergence, winner of the APA Division 44 Distinguished Book Award.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction and Outline 1

Chapter 1 Gender Identity 5

Chapter 2 Gender Expression 27

Chapter 3 Family 59

Chapter 4 School and Work 75

Chapter 5 Friends and Other Peers 89

Chapter 6 Dating and Sex 101

Chapter 7 Balancing Multiple Identities 123

Chapter 8 Dealing with the Hard Stuff 141

Conclusion 165

Afterword 167

Interviews

Testa resides in Memphis, TN; Peta resides in Petaluma, CA; and Coolhart resides in Syracuse, NY.

Editorial Reviews

What makes this book so powerful is the balance the authors strike between asking open-ended questions and offering readers tools from which to build answers... An invaluable resource for all young people on a gender quest.”
—Kirkus starred review


"From inconspicuous activities such as people watching to more task-oriented ideas for encouraging young people to broach their concerns to family members, this volume serves as a valuable resource."
—Library Journal


“The Gender Quest Workbook is an excellent resource for any young person who would like to explore gender. The authors really cover all the bases and bring to life the process by which a person can feel supported in bringing self-determination and creativity to expressing their gender. The language used is clear and user-friendly. I would absolutely recommend this to my clients. Testa, Coolhart, and Peta make excellent tour guides through this journey!”
—Sand Chang, PhD, clinical psychologist and gender specialist in the Kaiser Permanente Multi-Specialty Transitions Department, chair of the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (CSOGD), and coauthor of the APA Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People


“We invite youth today to embark on their own unique gender journey. But imagine hiking into the wilderness without a map. Now, with the publication of The Gender Quest Workbook, Rylan Jay Testa, Deborah Coolhart, and Jayme Peta have provided just such a detailed topographical map for gender exploration. The Gender Quest Workbook is an invaluable resource for any youth wanting to explore their gender, and for the professionals and family members accompanying the youth on their venture. Just a generation ago, youth gender quests remained a topic of which we did not speak. The Gender Quest Workbook has broken that sound barrier by giving youth a place for their voice, inviting them to put words to their own journey as they engage in the exercises so brilliantly laid out by Testa, Coolhart, and Peta.”
—Diane Ehrensaft, PhD, director of mental health at the Child and Adolescent Gender Center, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, and author of Gender Born, Gender Made and The Gender Creative Child


“This workbook is an important resource for the transgender community. I wish I’d had something like it when I was coming out to myself.”
—Greta Gustava Martela, cofounder and executive director of Trans Lifeline, the first national crisis line for transgender people
 


“Informative, supportive, and fun. These playful and engaging exercises are powerful tools for self-discovery. I wish I’d had this guide as a teenager. Any young adult exploring gender will find freedom in these pages.”
—Nick Krieger, author of Nina Here Nor There


“The only book of its kind, The Gender Quest Workbook is an invaluable resource for transgender and gender-questioning youth, their families, the professionals in their lives, and anyone who is interested in ‘undoing gender brainwashing.’”
—Zander Keig, LCSW, coeditor of Letters for My Brothers and Manning Up,and featured in the documentary Zanderology
 


“The Gender Quest Workbook is a wonderful new resource for exploring the evolving landscape of gender. Providing a road map for young people of any gender to examine their own experiences and understanding of this core aspect of self, this important tool also affirms the authenticity of individuals who find themselves in the less crowded terrain somewhere along the gender spectrum. Whether cisgender or gender expansive, more and more young people are personalizing their gender stories. The Gender Quest Workbook will play a critical role in shaping the narratives they create.”
—Joel Baum, MS, senior director of professional development and family services at Gender Spectrum, and founding member and director of education and advocacy at the Child and Adolescent Gender Center at the University of California, San Francisco

From the Publisher

11/01/2015
As the media continues to feed on Bruce Jenner's transition to Caitlyn, transgenderism is entering household conversations like never before. In this timely arrival, coauthors Testa, Deborah Coolhart, and Jayme Peta offer a workbook that supports the exploration of gender identity issues. Whether the young person is questioning their gender, doesn't feel confident navigating life as he or she is, or desires to make a change, the book supplies an empathetic space for investigating these concerns, beginning with a discussion on the difference between gender and sex, then moving on to such ideas as "gender swirl," "transfeminine," and "genderqueer." Following these brief introductions are reflections on dress, behavior, and sexuality. VERDICT From inconspicuous activities such as people watching to more task-oriented ideas for encouraging young people to broach their concerns to family members, this volume serves as a valuable resource. While this isn't the best acquisition for libraries (it is truly a workbook), librarians would do well to be informed of its availability.

Library Journal

12/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—A guide designed for teens who are interested in exploring gender. The authors present readers with steps to begin a "gender quest," giving the impression that developing one's identity and feeling comfortable with oneself is as easy as following a set of instructions. Through eight chapters, the writers cover gender identity, gender expression, family, school and work, friends and peers, dating and sex, multiple identities, and challenges. The definition and discussion of several terms are helpful for those unfamiliar with the subject as well as for those who are looking for ways to understand and accept their identities and expressions. Activities and exercises are provided in each chapter to help readers incorporate their discovery, exploration, and expression and reflect on the subjects discussed. The writing and layout are textbooklike, and the lack of illustrations might be a limitation for visual learners. The tone of the book is generally light but sometimes seems overly upbeat, considering the serious subject matter. VERDICT Recommended for collections seeking a "Gender 101" workbook for young adults.—Sujei Lugo, Boston Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

★ 2015-10-06
An open-ended workbook offers young people questioning their gender identity tools for thinking, feeling, and strategizing. Introductory chapters lay out such basic concepts as gender identity, gender expression, and differences between sex and gender. Later chapters discuss various areas of life where gender comes into play, from family to school and work to dating and sex. Information is presented in brief, straightforward segments, but exercises for readers form the bulk of each chapter. The authors use an expansive variety of approaches, from observational exercises to drawing prompts to asking readers to circle words that describe their feelings. What makes this book so powerful is the balance the authors strike between asking open-ended questions and offering readers tools from which to build answers. A segment on socioeconomic status asks a series of practical questions starting with "are there any parts of your gender exploration that will cost money?" A table for planning "experiments," such as wearing a men's shirt, prompts readers with questions about location, materials, and safety considerations. One chapter in particular focuses on religious, ethnic, and other identities that intersect with gender, and both the inclusive nature of the questions and the broad range of example scenarios throughout make the book well-suited to a diverse readership. An invaluable resource for all young people on a gender quest. (supplemental Web content) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews