Customer Reviews

When The Opposite Sex Isn't: Sexual Orientation In Male-to-Female Transgender People

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While the information provided on the sexual orientation in male-to-female transgender people is certainly of interest, this book covers far more than that.

The Standards of Care of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) are the generally accepted guidelines for treating transgender people. One of the foundations of the SOC is that a therapist must determine who is qualified to move forward with a gender transition. Surprisingly, transgender care is rarely covered in university psychology and social work curriculums. The result is a shortage of therapists with experience working with transgender people. For those who would like to get involved with this work, Samons' book is one of the few resources available.

Samons writes in detail about the gender transition process and her related experiences working with clients and their families. In addition to postulating why sexual orientation might have changed for some of her clients, she also digs into topics that frequently come up more frequently in therapy sessions, such the impact on the clients' wives, partners, and children, the sometimes hurtful influence of religion, and other challenges of transition. She also provides helpful insights into a rapidly developing area of practice, that of working with transgender children.

As Walter Bockting, PhD, the 2009-11 President of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, put it: "(Samons) analyzed the clinical charts of 97 of her clients in a systematic way, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The result is a very readable account of what Samons has learned from her clients throughout her career. What stands out is the compassion she has for her clients, a healthy curiosity about their experiences, nuance in her synthesis and discussion of findings, never losing touch of plain good common sense."

While Samons' primary focus is male-to-female clients, I believe this book will be immensely helpful for therapists wanting to work with all transgender clients.

One of the better books I've read on the subject. It imparts much practical information with a lot of heart and humor, and is right up to date on the changing transgender scene in the 21st century, which isn't your grandmother's sex-change anymore!