Medical Trauma, Dismissal, and Advocacy in Therapy A Clinical Training for Working with Marginalized Clients

Register for: Medical Trauma, Dismissal, and Advocacy in Therapy Supporting Marginalized Clients in Complex Healthcare Systems

Most therapists were never trained to navigate what happens when clients have been dismissed, not believed, or harmed within medical systems.

So in session, it can sound like:

“I believe my client—but I don’t know how to help them navigate a system that isn’t working”

“I don’t want to unintentionally reinforce the same dismissal they’ve already experienced”

“I’m not sure how to support advocacy without overstepping”

These moments are more common than we talk about—and more complex than most trainings prepare us for.

Because your client is not the problem—the system is. 

You’re working with clients who have been:

• dismissed

• minimized

• not believed

And for many clients, that experience is shaped by systemic oppression.

Transgender clients.

LGBTQ+ clients.

Black clients.

Clients navigating weight stigma or financial barriers.

Many are managing multiple layers of dismissal at once.

Their symptoms are questioned.

Their experiences are minimized.

Their voices are talked over.

And then they come back to therapy carrying all of it—

Not just the symptoms, but the exhaustion, frustration, and mistrust that comes with it.

This training is designed to help you:

• How systemic oppression in healthcare shows up in therapy (and how to name it clearly)
• How to support clients without reinforcing dismissal or minimizing their experience
• How to help clients advocate for themselves in medical settings
• How to work with mistrust when prior providers have caused harm
• How to navigate real-world limitations without defaulting to “coping skills only”

This is not theoretical

This is a 3-hour live CEU focused on real clinical application

You will leave with tools you can use immediately in session.

About the Presenter

Katie Leikam, LCSWWPATH GEI SOC8 Certified Gender Specialist

Katie specializes in:

• Gender-affirming care

• Autism & ADHD

• Medical trauma and complex clinical presentations

She has over a decade of experience working with transgender and LGBTQ+ clients and is known for her work in clinical competency, ethics, and real-world application of WPATH SOC 8 standards.

Katie also brings lived experience with chronic illness, informing her understanding of how medical systems impact clients—but her training focuses on helping therapists navigate these dynamics in practice.

In addition to her clinical work, Katie has spent the past 10 years running a therapist community for clinicians living with chronic pain and illness, where she has heard hundreds of firsthand experiences of medical dismissal—even from providers with strong advocacy skills. 

Training Details

📅 Friday, May 8, 2026

⏰ 10:30am Eastern

💻 Live Virtual Training

🎓 3 Core CEUs (UGA Approved for LCSW, LPC, LMFT and associates)

💲 $115

Reserve Your Spot

If you work with clients who have been dismissed, misunderstood, or harmed in healthcare systems,  this training will help you respond more effectively in the moments where you feel stuck.

👉 Register here: