The Transgender Health Collaborative is a network of faculty researchers, educators and clinicians working with the transgender community throughout Saint Louis University and partner organizations. The faculty-organized and led collaborative was established in 2020 to promote the health of the transgender and genderqueer community through clinical services, research and clinical education.
About the Collaborative
The Transgender Health Collaborative gathers faculty from a variety of disciplines, including medicine, medical family therapy, nutrition and dietetics, and speech-language pathology.
The goals of the collaborative are to:
- Advance respectful, inclusive, and patient-centered care for the transgender community
- Promote research productivity related to transgender health
- Train future health care professionals to be competent in gender-inclusive practices through clinical education
Our guiding principles include meaningful engagement with the transgender community; an interdisciplinary approach to research and clinical practice; partnership with on-campus and community-based organizations; Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam; Cura Personalis.
The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) recently offered a paper that reflects on the compassionate accompaniment of individuals on our campuses with diverse gender identities. SLU鈥檚 Transgender Healthcare Collaborative seeks to align with AJCU鈥檚 guidance in our purpose and practice.
Active Collaborators: SLU faculty actively involved in research and/or clinical practice with the transgender community
- Katie Heiden-Rootes, PhD, LMFT, Division of Diversity & Innovative Community Engagement, Department of Family and Community Medicine
- Whitney Linsenmeyer, PhD, RD, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
- Rabia Rahman, PhD, RD, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
- Theresa Drallmeier, MD, Department of Family and Community Medicine
- Shelly Dalton, PhD, Department of Family and Community Medicine
- , Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women's Health
- Annie Garner, PhD, Department of Psychology
- Madeline Stenersen, PhD, Department of Psychology
- , Department of Internal Medicine
Affiliated Members: SLU faculty and staff and offices who enthusiastically support the work of the Collaborative
- Patrick Cousins, MA, Division for Mission and Identity
- Katie Skosky, NFP-C, Student Health Center
- Knieba Jones-Johnson, LMFT, University Counseling Center
- Kira Banks, PhD, Department of Psychology
- Tim Randolph, PhD, MLS (ASCP), Department of Clinical Health Sciences
- Jeff Scherrer, PhD, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience
- Leslie Hinyard, PhD, MSW, Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research
- , School of Medicine
- , Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
- , Department of Family and Community Medicine, Southhampton Community Healthcare
Community Partners: Individuals and organizations from the broader St. Louis community who partner with the Collaborative on research, teaching, and other projects
- , Mx. Willow Consulting
- , Trans Housing Initiative St. Louis
- , BGTransTalks.com
- , Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital
- , Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital
- , Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital
Those interested in joining the Collaborative or receiving updates about our work can contact Whitney Linsenmeyer at whitney.linsenmeyer@health.slu.edu
Current Projects
The Interprofessional Transgender Health Education Day (PDF) (ITHED) is a full-day training designed by faculty members to provide foundational knowledge on transgender health and gender-inclusive communication for students in clinical education or training programs at Saint Louis University.
This work is supported by the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) and the Saint Louis University 1818 grant. Findings on the impact of the ITHED supported that . As future healthcare providers who will one day be caring for trans patients, they see:
The 2023 ITHED took place in October. For more information, contact Whitney Linsenmeyer at whitney.linsenmeyer@health.slu.edu.
Clinical education programs are positioned to train future health care professionals to provide excellent health care for transgender and gender-diverse patients. Co-authored by clinical educators and community partners, , facilitates critical inquiry among clinical educators regarding their approach to teaching about sex, gender, the historical and sociopolitical context of transgender health, and how to prepare their students to apply standards of care and clinical care guidelines set forth by national and international professional organizations. Learn more about the toolkit development .
Family acceptance and support is suicide prevention and seeds of health and hope for LGBTQ youth. Through a community-engaged project, faculty researchers sought to bring evidence-based family therapy practice to Missouri to equip mental health professionals to engage the families of LGBTQ adolescents to improve acceptance and support. This project is funded by the Missouri Foundation for Health. A research report can be found .
Researchers and mental health professionals can access published articles about the connection between , disordered eating and body image for trans youth and , and .
New research and educational projects are underway to improve the clinical education of healthcare professionals to be a source of support and compassion for LGBTQ youth and their families.
for transgender patients are both clinical and psychosocial in nature. Psychosocial considerations include the intersection of , , and food insecurity.
Registered dietitians can provide excellent nutrition care for their transgender patients and clients. Common considerations include ; , and a .
Many . A can ensure all participants, especially gender minority populations, are captured accurately.
The Missouri LGBTQ Political Climate Survey documents the impact of Missouri LGBTQ legislation and the political climate on the mental health, stress, and intent to leave or stay in the state for three populations of Missourians: 1) LGBTQ adults, 2) parents of LGBTQ youth, and 3) mental and medical healthcare providers who serve LGBTQ people. The first survey was launched by the Transgender Health Collaborative at SLU in the fall of 2023 and will be repeated annually.
Sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity (SOGI) data are often conflated or omitted in clinical and research settings. In the . Sex and gender are conflated in , which . Researchers can use the while ensuring privacy and confidentiality.
Clinical Services
The clinic provides services related to speech, language and hearing, including feminizing and masculinizing voice therapy for gender-diverse patients. As part of the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences graduate program, the Reinert clinic is a training site where clients are seen by student-clinicians under the supervision of a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist. There is no fee charged to clients for services.
McGannon Hall Suite 32
3750 Lindell Blvd.
St. Louis MO 63110
Provider: Emily Buxbaum, MS, CCC-SLP
To make an appointment: Call 314-977-3365 and request an appointment with Emily Buxbaum.
Michael Thomure, M.D., is a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist and surgeon who provides gender-inclusive healthcare for patients at SLUCare鈥檚 Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health.
1031 Bellevue Ave, Suite 400, St. Louis MO 63117
Provider: Michael Thomure, M.D.
To make an appointment: Call 314-977-7455 and request Dr. Thomure.
The mission of Family Care Health Center is to provide affordable and accessible comprehensive primary care services to anyone, with emphasis on the medically underserved. No health insurance is required. Theresa Drallmeier, M.D., provides respectful, inclusive, and patient-centered healthcare for transmasculine and transfeminine patients.
401 Holly Hills Ave, St. Louis MO 63111
Provider: Theresa Drallmeier, M.D.
To make an appointment: Call 314-353-5190 and request Dr. Drallmeier.
The Queer and Trans Wellness Clinic @ SLU seeks to be a safe haven and advocate with the LGBTQIA+ community of Missouri. We strive to promote flourishing for LGBTQIA+ people that builds a life and world worth living in through psychotherapy services. These services include individual, couple, family and group therapy for queer and trans people of all ages. The cost of services is based on a sliding scale, down to $10 per session. Services are provided by graduate students in the family therapy, clinical psychology, and social work graduate programs at Saint Louis University in the Center for Counseling and Family Therapy.
Center for Counseling and Family Therapy
3700 Lindell Blvd, Morrissey Hall, Suite 1100, St. Louis MO 63108
Supervisor: Katie Heiden-Rootes, Ph.D., LMFT
To make an appointment: Call 314-977-2505 and request The QT Clinic.
Resources
Collaborative members have created a number of resources that draw on their community-engaged scholarship. These resources include:
- : practical guidelines for educators in medicine, allied health, and mental health disciplines. Key sections include a literature review of existing educational interventions, clinical care guidelines, seven strategies to advancing inclusion, considerations for simulation and transgender health, and working with students who express resistance to learning.
- : nutrition handouts free to download, print, and share. Topics include nourishing your body, self-care through exercise, building lean body mass, and disordered eating concerns, among others.
- : family resource guide that is free to download, print, and share. The guide summarizes findings from 14 families who took part in Attachment-Based Family Therapy with their LGBTQ youth. Findings point to the need for parents to have separate space and time to seek support and talk about their own upbringings. In addition, youth need to feel respected and cared for by parents and the therapist. The not-so-secret-agenda of the guide is to encourage families to seek LGBTQ-affirming mental health services when a young person comes out.
Collaborative Updates
- Saint Louis University to Host Interprofessional Transgender Health Education Day
- SLU Nutrition and Dietetics Faculty Member Awarded Research Grant to Study Strength Training and Nutrition in the Transgender Community
- SLU Works with Community Organizations to Create Toolkit for Transgender Health Education