The Trans and Gender Diverse Teen Resilience Guide: Essential Skills for Building Community, Well-Being, and Mental Health
By (Author) Deborah Coolhart
By (author) Jayme L. Peta
By (author) Rylan Jay Testa
New Harbinger Publications
New Harbinger Publications
7th July 2025
United States
Young Adult
Non Fiction
Complementary therapies, healing and health
Coping with / advice about mental health issues or topics
305.2350867
Paperback
176
Width 152mm, Height 202mm, Spine 12mm
220g
A teen-friendly guide to help you embrace your identity, build resilience, and thrive.
As a transgender or nonbinary teen, you may sometimes feel like you are alone. The world can be a scary, unkind place, and if you're struggling to find support, you may be tempted to lose hope. But it's important for you to know that there are other teens out there just like you-as well as a whole community of folks who have been where you are now, and who are thriving as adults. Finding hope, happiness, and community takes time. In the meantime, this compassionate guide can help.
Written just for trans and nonbinary (TGNB) youth, this book offers trauma-informed skills to help you embrace who you are, give and find support in community, and thrive. You'll discover tools to help you manage intense emotions and stress, cultivate self-compassion, prioritize self-care, and create communities of support. Finally, you'll learn how to focus on creating the life you want to live, in a positive community of others.
When faced with life's challenges, it's vital to remember that you are not alone, and you deserve to be happy, safe, and loved. No matter what. This book can help support you as you navigate the world and discover all the wonders that make you you.
"The Trans and Gender Diverse Teen Resilience Guide provides young people with a brilliant extra tool in their toolbox to navigate the challenges the teen years bring. Although primarily a resource for adolescents, those parenting and working with trans and gender diverse teens will gain beneficial insight into these challenges, and potentially increase empathy and understanding regarding ways they can support the young person in their lives."
--Jo Hirst, author of A House for Everyone--Jo Hirst
"With empowering and compassionate language, here's a comprehensive resource that is an absolute lifeline to teens. The authors seamlessly bridge the gap between thought and action, offering gentle exploration and practical strategies to handle tough times. Reading this guide is like settling in with a wonderfully affirming loved one that sees you for all of your magic and worth. An absolute must-have on your bookshelf--these words are gold."
--Rachel E. Simon, LCSW, MEd, psychotherapist, educator, and author of The Every Body Book and The Every Body Book of Consent--Rachel E. Simon, LCSW, MEd
Jayme L. Peta, PhD, is a psychologist with clinical and research experience in improving health and wellness for trans and nonbinary youth and adults. Currently, Peta is faculty at the Wright Institute and has published articles and chapters on the experiences of LGBTQ people in crisis and public mental health settings. Peta is also a trainer with the LGBTQ+ Clinical Academy, which provides in-depth training in LGBTQ+ affirming therapy and cultural competence for public and community mental health providers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Deb Coolhart, PhD, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice, and associate professor at the Syracuse University Marriage and Family Therapy program. For 25 years, her clinical and scholarly work has focused on the strengths and challenges of trans people and their loved ones, and she has published several journal articles and book chapters on providing gender-affirmative care to trans and nonbinary people and their families. Twenty years ago, Coolhart created a clinical team of master's students who work specifically with trans clients, their partners, and their families in a free university clinic-providing a valuable service to the transgender community in Central New York, including providing letters of support for gender-affirming medical treatments.
Rylan Jay Testa, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and transgender man. He has served as an assistant professor, researcher, clinical supervisor, consultant, and trainer in the areas of trans and nonbinary mental health and resilience for over a decade. Testa now concentrates his efforts on healing and transformative clinical work, integrating psycho-spiritual and nature-based healing modalities. Testa's work aims to support the inherent resilience of all life that is available in each of us, rooted in our authentic diversity of bodies, identities, experiences, and expressions.