Important Information

The Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference 2021 and its ProTrack will be held virtually on, July 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, 2021.

The Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference (PTWC) is the largest transgender health conference in the world. Originally founded by Charlene Arcila in 2002, this conference is brought to life with the support of countless community members year after year.

The mission of the PTWC is to empower trans individuals on issues of health and well-being, recognizing the need for expertise surrounding trans health and wellness to rise from within the community. 

The Professional track (ProTrack) includes workshops designed to enhance clinical knowledge and cultural competence for professionals working with trans, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals.  These workshops qualify for education credits on three tracks: medical, behavioral health, and legal. Regardless of the audience, workshops are designed to elevate, acknowledge, and respect trans experience and trans autonomy. 

Regarding the impact of the pandemic

In previous years, the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference has been held at the Philadelphia Convention Center. Hosting the conference at the Convention Center allowed us to carve out a physical space for attendees to come together, to build a sense of community and togetherness. Undoubtedly, the vibrant energy of the PTWC has been supported and sustained by the Convention Center. For this reason, it is bittersweet for us to announce our decision to pivot to a virtual conference for 2021. This decision comes after months of thoughtful consideration and preparation. We know that for many, the conference itself as a space, represents community, unity, and connection and for some folks it may the only space such experiences can be held throughout the year.

This choice was made proactively so that our team had the necessary time and resources to meaningfully develop conference content, using digital platforms. Even with the advent of a vaccine, a conference with such a high level of international participation and attendance exponentially creates numerous health and safety risks, drawing folks to airports, hotels, public transportation, to the convention center, restaurants, etc. It felt irresponsible of us to create so many vectors to spread the virus for attendees, which would cascade into the general public as well. 

There will still be workshops, show and tells, exhibitors, panels, shopping, and more, but all from the comfort and safety of home. A virtual conference presents us with a lot of opportunities as well, from expanding programmatic offerings to reaching and welcoming folks who may have been unable to attend previously for a myriad of reasons. 

The primary goal of the conference has always been to advance the health, wellness, and safety of the Trans community. We cannot in good conscience hold a conference that places this community, for whom access to healthcare in this country is already such a burdensome experience, at greater risk in the midst of pandemic that comes with so many unknowns. 

Forthcoming resources will be made available to support presenters and attendees alike in navigating and acclimating to the Virtual Attendee Hub, the PTWC's central point of access and engagement.

We invite those who have presented at the conference previously to submit updated proposals from the year before. Keeping in mind that attendees return from year to year, our goal is to bring current information to attendees presented in an innovative and creative manner.   

 

Note: As a result of the pivot to a virtual programming platform, we expect to present a smaller programming slate than previous years, resulting in few presenter slots.

Content Levels

All proposals should indicate whether or not the workshop will appeal to beginner, intermediate or advanced level participants. Presenters are asked to keep in mind that committees are seeking high-level content and these submissions will be given priority. In efforts to increase presenters’ ability to dive deeper into content, Mazzoni Center will be hosting a workshop on TGNC fundamentals. The workshops will be available to any provider, regardless of track, that need to learn terminology, affirming language, and the differences between assigned sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Presenters should not feel the need to review fundamental concepts in their presentatations.

  • A Beginner-level workshop focuses heavily on introducing individuals to T/GNC/NB best practices. The audience for this workshop most likely have never worked with T/GNC/NB communities. 
  • An Intermediate-level workshop spends much of the workshop discussing the subject material directly and requires attendees to have some knowledge of T/GNC/NB competencies and issues.
  • An Advanced-level workshop requires attendees to have significant knowledge of T/GNC/NB competencies and issues and focuses on best practices, innovative new practices and complex health issues that affect T/GNC/NB communities. 

ProTrack Content Areas

ProTrack attendees (professionals, students, and community members) are invited to register for a specific track; medical, behavioral health, and legal. Workshop proposals should indicate which track the workshop is most appropriate for. 

Medical Track

The Medical Track seeks professionals in the healthcare field to present on healthcare best practices, innovative approaches to treatment, and clinical research on treating and supporting T/GNC/NB communities. 

Healthcare professionals include, but are not limited to physicians, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, physical/occupational/speech therapists, chiropractors and integrative medicine specialists.

Topics may include:

  • Advanced medical management of transgender patients
  • Pre/post and perioperative care in the primary care office
  • Telehealth in Gender Affirming Care
  • Surgical options
  • Surgical Walkthroughs
  • Endocrinology, Exogenous Hormones, and HRT
  • Unique medical concerns for trans and gender non-conforming adolescents and children
  • Aging and end of life care
  • Current research/dissertation work
  • Reproductive technology and family building options
  • Cardiovascular and malignancy risk and evaluation in AMAB and AFAB trans-identified people
  • Medical advocacy in the management of patient surrounding coverage of services
  • Navigating healthcare coverage/denials
  • Pre-operative assessment and letter-writing
  • Sexually transmitted infection risk/treatment/prevention (pre and post-exposure)
  • Medical and advanced practice nurse school/program training
  • Answering "non-medical" questions (such as binding, tucking, etc.)
  • Psychiatric care of transgender patients

Behavioral Health Track

The Behavioral Health Track seeks professionals in the behavioral health field to present on dynamic innovations or clinical research on working with T/GNC/NB people throughout the lifespan. 

Behavioral Health professionals include, but are not limited to, LPCs, licensed social workers, psychiatrists, phycologists, counselors. 

Topics may include:

  • Addiction and recovery
  • Suicidality considerations
  • Supporting Trans patient
  • Gender Affirming Care
  • Creating a Gender Affirming Practice
  • Telehealth in Gender Affirming Care
  • Transition Planning & Wellness
  • Couples therapy with Non-Binary partners/spouses
  • Clinical research, theory, case presentations, clinical practice innovations, and best practices
  • Transition-Related Care: social and medical transition, gender, mental health, insurance, surgery letters, advocacy
  • Location of self for T/GNC/NB providers
  • Trauma-informed practice

Legal Track

We seek a variety of workshops that will address important legal issues and practice skills for attorneys, law students, and legal staff who counsel, or want to counsel, T/GNC/NB clients.

 

Topics may include:

  • Advances in Trans Equality
  • Litigating Workplace Transphobia
  • Insurance Claim disputes
  • Trans People in the Criminal Legal System
  • Improving and Supporting the Name and Gender Change Process
  • Trans People in the Workplace
  • Disability and the T/GNC/NB Community
  • Supporting the Needs of Trans Kids in Schools
  • Criminal justice & prison issues

Interdisciplinary Workshops

If a proposal applies to more than one field, a presenter may check off each field they believe the proposal applies to, in order to ensure that the respective committees are able to review the proposal. 

Considerations for selection include T/GNC/NB competencies, innovation and clarity; research/evidence-based content; audience engagement, and the degree to which the proposal reflects the conference's commitment to representation across race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age and disability.

To Submit your proposal you will need:

- The Resume/CV for all presenters

- Brief bios for presenters

- Outline and Description of your workshop

- Learning Objectives

-Target Audience

- Citations for Research and References

- A completed disclosure form for each presenter, provided here within submission form. (Medical & Interdiciplinary only)

Ready? Submit a Workshop Here:

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