By Shirley Emerson, 2008
While the clinical literature contains descriptions of the families and partners of transgender individuals, a description of the family members’ processes of adjustment to a relative’s transgender identity has not previously appeared in the family therapy literature. Family members experience different processes from the transgender individual. This article discusses stages that family members may experience and is directed toward therapists who work with any member of the family, as well as toward transgender individuals who may need to understand their families’ experience.