When Martha’s Vineyard Community Services launched a transgender support group last December, the response was immediate. “I was surprised at how many people called within two weeks of putting out the word right before Christmas,” says the group’s facilitator, Rikki Pashen, Psy.D. “I got over a dozen calls. I didn’t know there would be that many that quickly.”
The group, which has now met three times, currently includes seven dedicated members, who range in age from 13 to mid-60s, and represent a broad range of community members. “The kids and the people in this group just want to be understood and be accepted and valued,” says Ms. Pashen.
Outreach material provided by MVCS explains that the transgender support group is “for adults and youth of all ages who are in any stage of the process of transitioning from their assigned gender to their affirmed gender. The aim of the group is to provide a safe space where members have the opportunity to discuss their experiences and concerns in a confidential setting while developing a support system. Topics of discussion may include: Exploring challenges of transitioning; inquiries related to the process of transitioning and the available resources; experiences of transphobia.”
The transgender support group is not an open or a drop-in group. People interested in joining are asked to schedule an initial meeting with Ms. Pashen.
Transgender is the T in the term LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender). The first three letters refer to sexual orientation. According to GLAAD (a national media-monitoring organization founded by LGBT people in the media), “Transgender is a term used to describe people whose gender identity differs from the sex the doctor marked on their birth certificate. Gender identity is a person’s internal, personal sense of being a man or a woman. For transgender people, the sex they were assigned at birth and their own internal gender identity do not match.”
Transgender people face unique issues, among them those that arise from not identifying as the sex on their birth certificate, including discrimination, bullying, and stigma in the community. “Gender identity and sexual orientation are two different concepts,” says Ms. Pashen. “Sexual orientation is about who you go to bed with. Gender identity is about who you go to bed as.”
Medical transitioning can include anything from hormone therapy to cosmetic procedures, to sex-reassignment surgery. “Medical transitioning isn’t everybody’s experience,” explains Ms. Pashen. “Gender identity exists on a spectrum from people who identify completely with the sex they were assigned at birth to people who identify as the opposite, and everything in between. ‘Transgender’ is a term that is often used to refer to this larger spectrum of gender identity. It’s important to realize that not everyone who identifies as transgender wants to transition to the opposite gender, and many transgender people are not interested in hormone treatment or gender-affirmation surgery. It’s a unique experience for every individual.”
Members of the MVCS support group are in different stages of the transitioning process. One benefit of meeting with other transgender people is the opportunity for people in the early stages of the process to learn what to expect. “People share what it’s like,” says Ms. Pashen. “What different procedures do to your body. What the side effects are. Some of the people in the earlier stages learn what it might be like for them.”
Just as important, group members have a safe place to talk openly about experiences with transphobia, acceptance by friends and family members, and other issues faced by transgender people. “At the beginning of each meeting, we check in about what’s been going on during the week, both related to transitioning and gender-identity issues like stigma in the community,” says Ms. Pashen.
“I started the group because I got a couple of transgender patients who were referred to me by community members who weren’t sure where they should go,” says Ms. Pashen, who worked extensively in the mental health field with LGBT groups before moving to the Vineyard in 2015. “Each transgender person I met with says that there was nobody else on the Island for them to talk to. The only transgender people they knew were from online support groups. I knew that there were different transgender people out there, but because of confidentiality issues, I couldn’t introduce them to one another.”
The support group has given Ms. Pashen and Community Services the opportunity to bring transgender community members together. “Each person I spoke to says, ‘Are you sure there are enough people on the Island for a group?’ It’s not something that you really advertise about yourself. You never know who is transgender when you’re walking down the street.”
Ms. Pashen hopes to eventually start a drop-in support group for parents, family members, and intimate partners of transgender people.
MVCS is also making an effort to provide transgender educational opportunities to the community. Ms. Pashen notes that the schools have been reaching out for information. She is encouraged that more and more people are looking to inform themselves on what transgender means, what it is like for individuals, and what unique problems and situations transgender people face.
“The people on the Island are very willing to educate themselves,” says Ms. Pashen. “Many times they mean well, but things that they’ve said have been unintentionally hurtful.”
Ms. Pashen recommends the website Fenway Health (fenwayhealth.org)
as an excellent resource for those wanting to understand more about transgender people and the issues they face.
Anyone who is interested in joining the transgender support group should meet with the group coordinator, Ms. Pashen, prior to attending their first group. For questions and to schedule an initial meeting, please call Rikki Pashen, Psy.D., at 508-693-7900, ext. 241.
People interested in attending a support group meeting for family and intimate partners of transgender people should also call Ms. Pashen for information.