Join us June 10-14 at our brand new program for transfeminine youth, ages 10-12! Épanouie is a collaboration between the Institute for Girls’ Development and the LA Gender Center. Check out our Épanouie page to learn more! Click here to watch our promo video with Dr. Caroline Carter and Dr. Erin Norton!
By Melissa J. Johnson, PH.D. Founder & CEO Licensed Psychologist (PSY 13102) As an organization dedicated to empowering girls, their families and their circles of community, we have been thinking deeply about our role in empowering gender non-conforming, non-binary and trans youth. Coinciding with our own deep reflections, we find that parents, teens and young
By: MARY SCHULTZ, MMFT Registered Intern (IMF 87459) Supervised by Monica Valdivia-Aguilar, MA, LMFT (MFT41352) & REBECCA TURNER, M.S. Registered Intern (94229) Supervised by Monica Valdivia Aguilar, M.A., MFC 41352 Mary and Rebecca facilitate Rainbow Grit at the Institute, our group for LGBTQ youth. It might be safe to assume you’re wearing clothes
By Kara Johnson, M.A., LMFT Everybody needs a place where they can freely and safely express themselves. Yet I often hear from LGBTQIA teens that they feel like no one understands what they are really going through. They may feel isolated from others. And, they may have lots of uncertainty about who they really are.
When Your Teen Identifies as Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual…. By Melissa Johnson, PhD Psychologist (PSY13102), CEO and Founder of the Institute for Girls’ Development. One of the important tasks of the teen years is asking – and starting to answer – “who am I?” The “who am I?” questions include: Who am I emotionally, socially,
At the Institute, our goal is to provide an open-minded space for our clients to explore questions of identity formation and to equip teens and families with resources and support as they journey to an integrated, authentic identity. At the Institute Individual therapy: While all our therapists are trained to develop targeted, supportive interventions for