ACTing As Yourself: Implementing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Transgender Adolescents Through a Developmental Lens
Abstract
Transgender adolescents are at an increased risk for mental health concerns including depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, and truancy. Transgender youth are especially vulnerable to victimization and bullying, often exacerbating mental health symptoms. Furthermore, typical adolescent developmental milestones as well as the unique developmental experiences of transgender adolescents make growth and identity development challenging. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a third-wave cognitive therapy that focuses on acceptance, values-driven decisions, and committed action. Practitioners’ use of ACT has demonstrated effectiveness with at-risk adolescents and allows for transgender adolescent clients to gain more skills and support throughout their personal journey. In this article, we provide a case illustration and application of ACT with a transgender adolescent and also explore the developmental needs and considerations of this population in need.
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This is the first ACT-inspired open trial tailored for LGBTQ+ people.
“Despite previous calls to use standard ACT [40] or affirmative ACT [41] for LGBTQ+ communities, this is the first ACT-inspired open trial tailored for LGBTQ+ people.”
From An Internet-Based Intervention to Increase the Ability of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual People to Cope With Adverse Events: Single-Group Feasibility Study (2024) · cites this paper as [40]
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- Authors
- Bennett, C. M., & Dillman Taylor, D.
- Affiliations
- University of North Texas (US)
- College of Education and Human Performance, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA
- Corresponding author
- Bennett, Caitlyn McKinzie
- Venue
- Journal of Child and Adolescent Counseling
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2019-05-04
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 146-160
- ISSN
- 2372-7810 (ISSN-L)
- 2372-7829
- OpenAlex
- W2945436769
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 2.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Child and Adolescent Counseling (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
- Keywords
- acceptance and commitment therapy, transgender youth, adolescent development, identity construction, mental health, bullying, suicidal ideation, values-based action, case examples
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