Bio

Dr. Sebastian Barr holds a PhD in Counseling Psychology. He is currently completing an advanced fellowship in the Program for Psychotherapy at Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School. His primary clinical and research interests are the mental health and wellbeing of trans and gender diverse (TGD) people, the impacts of psychological trauma, and the processes of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Drawing upon research, clinical experience, and his own identities, Sebastian consults and speaks frequently on the provision of affirming and effective care for/with TGD people. His writing in this area has been published in academic journals including Journal of Counseling Psychology, and he is currently co-authoring a chapter in the forthcoming textbook The Fenway Guide to Trans- and Gender-Diverse Health Care. His work has been recognized by the American Psychological Association’s Society for the Psychology of Gender and Sexuality Diversity and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Project

I will be adapting my dissertation into two academic manuscripts and an accessible popular media article or blog post. The first manuscript will be a theoretical paper supporting a trauma framework for understanding the cumulative impact of non-affirmation of gender identity and anti-transgender bias on trans and gender diverse (TGD) people. This paper will also draw upon the history within the psych disciplines of the erasure of the voices of trauma victims and marginalized peoples. The second manuscript will present research that demonstrates relationships between TGD individuals’ PTSD severity and both non-affirmation and anti-transgender bias, providing support to the understanding of these experiences as potentially traumatic. The final piece of this project will be a non-academic effort to share this information with the TGD community and providers.