Transgender Day of Visibility: 2023
As I sit here preparing my materials and actions for my colleagues across the nation on Transgender Day of Visibility, I am infuriated. In addition to the actions of genocide happening across the country against transgender people, I am Infuriated with my professional organizations, both at the state and national level. Organizations I trust to protect me and those I serve in the capacity of counselor, supervisor and consumer of services.
Did you know that every single behavioral health professional organization at the state and national level, with the exception of those supporting Licensed Professional Counselors and Licensed Mental Health Counselors, have clear position statements in defense of transgender children and adults and their right as human beings to live a life free of genocide. A life that allows them to access life saving care. A life that ensures they will not be subjected to conversion therapy. A life that supports their right to thrive, not suffer.
Look for yourself, some are stronger than others, but they do exist and allow behavioral health and medical professionals, transgender and cis gender alike to trust that when they take a stand to care for their transgender patients and clients, their professional organization has an awareness of what they are facing across the nation and will have a path to support them should their license be placed at risk.
Now go visit the AMHCA, the charter organization of the LPCA, and search transgender, nothing but education. Visit the ACA, and search, you will find opinion pieces and education and even competencies (severely outdated while also being some of the most comprehensive) but no position. The LPCA, an organization that should be fighting for the interests of counselors state wide, has none. Worse, every time I and others have attempted to hold them accountable to stand for the rights of trans people and transgender professional counselors by welcoming a trans professional into leadership , they have replied by stating I am not a worthy of consideration for their ballot because I do not represent a unified voice of the organization. How could I possibly be unify my voice with an organization that does not take a stance to protect me as a human, as a professional or as a consumer of behavioral counseling services from an LPC.
So in preparation for Transgender Day of Visibility I call on my LMHC and LPC colleagues and the students, associates and interns we supervise, teach and direct to take a stand. Demand that the American Counseling Association and the American Mental Health Association as well as their affiliated state chapters take a stand and not only issue a statement but an action plan to protect all of us and those we serve as psypact comes into fruition. On March 31, 2024 I would like to be able to celebrate that I was seen as evidenced by the fact that the organizations that advocate for my license and my mental health have taken a stand.
Nick Marzo, MS LPC, LMHC, CST, ACS, NCC, CCMHC
