Therapy First

Raising the quality of care for youth gender dysphoria. Training and supporting clinicians to deliver developmentally sound mental health care.

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

We're excited officially to launch Therapy First's inaugural conference. 

➡️ IDENTITIES IN THE THERAPY ROOM: What is Unfolding?

The clinicians participating in this conference share a commitment to building the professional bridges we urgently need, and to finding common ground in support of our profession and those we serve.

Our keynote speaker is JONATHAN SHEDLER, PhD

Jonathan Shedler, PhD, is internationally recognized as an author, researcher, and clinical teacher. He is best known for his article The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, which won worldwide acclaim for demonstrating that psychoanalytic therapy is an evidence-based treatment.

Dr. Shedler’s research and writing continue to shape contemporary understanding of personality and its central role in psychotherapy. He is the author of more than 100 scientific and scholarly articles, the creator of the Shedler–Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP) for personality diagnosis and case formulation, and co-author of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM-3).

Dr. Shedler lectures internationally, leads workshops for professional audiences, consults to U.S. and international government agencies, and provides expert supervision and consultation to clinicians worldwide. He is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and a Training and Supervising Analyst at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis.

Watch this space this week as we announce our full lineup of Featured Speakers.

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

➡️ If you're a mental health clinician, we'd love to have you join the conversation at Therapy First's inaugural conference in New York City this October 17-18: "Identities in the Therapy Room: What is Unfolding?"

TOMORROW, October 13, is the last day to register for the conference! Secure your spot at https://t.co/SkJTMR2HXG

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

NEW: Therapy First president @paulgarciaryan joins @ryancvet on the Ryan Vet Show to discuss why therapists may disagree less than we think on clinical care provided to youth experiencing gender dysphoria.

Drawing on both his personal experience with transition and detransition, and his clinical work as a child and adolescent psychotherapist, Paul discusses the shift from a mental health model to a medical model of care, the ways language and polarization create an illusion of opposing sides in the mental health field, and how social media and digital technology is impacting adolescent identity development.

Watch the full interview: https://t.co/AhCkTViwWh

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

Therapy First board member SASHA AYAD was interviewed this week on RaQuel Hopkins' podcast, CapacityConvos. 

RaQuel and Sasha discuss the evolution of gender-related care in mental health for youth and why the psychotherapy profession has at times lost touch with clinical curiosity when working with this population.

Find the episode here:
https://t.co/tXZhNyeCRX

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

We’re delighted to welcome @KarnacBooks as an official sponsor of Identities in the Therapy Room: What Is Unfolding? 📚✨

Founded in 1950, Karnac Books is the world's leading independent psychoanalytic and psychotherapy bookseller and publisher. Over more than 75 years, they have become an iconic presence in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy.

We’re honored to have their support.

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

Read the full press release on our website:
https://t.co/ntTdXArMoc

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

Next month, Therapy First will bring together mental health clinicians from diverse perspectives working with young people experiencing gender dysphoria to explore clinical common ground amid a rapidly changing cultural and clinical landscape.

The conference is sponsored by @FrontiersIn, one of the world’s largest and most impactful research publishers, publishing more than 200 peer-reviewed journals, including Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

Learn more and apply to attend "Identities in the Therapy Room: What is Unfolding?" here:
https://t.co/SyZquSK7X0

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

Next month, Therapy First’s conference will foster much-needed, substantive clinical dialogue about what professionally and culturally competent psychotherapy with young people today requires of clinicians.

🗓️ New York City, October 17-18, 2026.

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

The environmental context is inseparable from clinical work.

Contemporary identity development is complex, shaped by culture, technology, peer relationships, and the broader social environment.

This understanding plays a  crucial role in informing clinical formulation for clinicians working with youth today.

[Paul Garcia-Ryan @paulgarciaryan]

Grateful to Frontiers for sponsoring Therapy First’s inaugural conference. We’re looking forward to much needed, substantive clinical dialogue next month on what professionally and culturally competent psychotherapy with youth today requires of clinicians.

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

@FrontiersIn Interested in becoming a sponsor? You can view our Sponsorship Guide by clicking the link below:
https://t.co/IIodt2Lsih

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

Therapy First’s inaugural conference, Identities in the Therapy Room: What Is Unfolding?, is sponsored by @FrontiersIn, one of the world’s largest and most impactful research publishers.

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

Identities in the Therapy Room: What Is Unfolding?
October 17-18, New York City
https://t.co/nw6JoEwOUb

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

How a clinician engages with a young patient at the beginning of therapy matters. It can either open up the process or narrow the scope of what’s possible.

👥 Therapy First President Paul Garcia-Ryan in conversation with psychologist Patricia Constantinian

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

Identities in the Therapy Room: What Is Unfolding?
October 17-18, New York City
https://t.co/nw6JoEwOUb

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

Young people today are coming of age in a particularly difficult time, navigating uncertainty about their lives, their futures, and the world around them alongside the already complex developmental work of adolescence.

For therapists, understanding this broader context can be an important part of cultural and professional competency when working with the lived realities of youth today.

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

➡️ Identities in the Therapy Room: What is Unfolding?

🗓️ October 17-18, New York City

🔗 Learn more and apply to attend:
https://t.co/uxZzAdLH33

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

The support and professional input of colleagues is essential to working with young people experiencing gender dysphoria.

This October, join us in New York City and be part of an important professional dialogue.

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

And if you'd like to be part of the unfolding conversation, join us at our inaugural conference, Identities in the Therapy Room: What is Unfolding?

🗓️ October 17-18, New York City

Click below to learn more and apply to attend. 

 https://t.co/uxZzAdLH33

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

Clinical training on youth gender dysphoria and identity development has too often flattened complexity and created a sense of certainty that doesn't track with what clinicians actually navigate in the therapy room. 

Paul Garcia-Ryan and Sasha Ayad recently discussed how Therapy First trains clinicians to stay curious, think carefully and deeply, and tolerate uncertainty.

[Therapy First @TherapyFirstOrg]

You can watch Sasha and Paul's discussion here ⬇️
https://t.co/lypMYCKUJn