September 18, 2015

The Mastery Workshop for Transgender Adults

The Mastery Workshop for Transgender Adults will take place at CAMP Rehoboth on October 23, 24, and 25. The Workshop,  in partnership with CAMP Rehoboth, is supported by PFLAG Rehoboth, All Saints Episcopal Church, MCC Church of Rehoboth, and Epworth United Methodist Church.

The Mastery Workshop, under the auspices of Northern Lights Alternatives, started in New York City in 1986 and has been held in numerous cities across the US, Canada, Europe, and Israel. The Mastery is a two-day, one-to-one interaction between trained facilitators and participants. It is a safe place for small groups (maximum of 20 participants) who listen to each other, laugh together, and maybe cry some. It is a time for self-discovery, power of action, and a passion for living life to the fullest. It continues to be a valuable tool for personal growth and empowerment. Partners, friends, and family of those who are transgender are welcome as well.

This Workshop will give transgender adults the opportunity to explore their options and choices in dealing with identity, family, personal relationships, work issues, and the future.

The Mastery Workshop fosters a regaining of self-worth, getting in touch with our emotions, examining our relationships with others and ourselves, breaking old patterns that inhibit personal growth, and making positive decisions for ourselves affecting quality of life.

The first transgender adult to attend a Mastery Workshop in Albany, New York came because she was HIV positive. Because of her experience in the Workshop, she came to realize who she was, and that she was perfect just the way she was, something she had tried to hide before this. Her ending statement was, “I am Stacy, and I am back!”

We emphasize commitment in the Mastery Workshop, to be true to ourselves, and in doing so, we have the power to be all that we want to be. We are not limited by the past or by others.

The motto of the Mastery Workshop is to “Live with passion,” otherwise we never get to live our lives to the fullest. By the end of the weekend, each Mastery graduate realizes what this means to them individually and collectively as a group that will hopefully provide continued support.

Those who do the interpersonal training and communication for the mastery workshop feel that the time is right to bring transgender and gender non-conforming people into a safe and personal space of growth, laughter and reflection.

Understanding Gender Non-conformity

Transgender and gender non-conforming people are those who have a gender identity that does not align with their sex assignment at birth. Transgender people have been documented showing up in several cultures throughout history and current information on the population shows a large increase in visibility around the world. Research on the lives of transgender people appears to be growing in scientific journals, in the media, and in the field of education. The experiences that are common to the lives of most transgender people do not always reflect those of being loved or appreciated for just wanting to be themselves. The social barriers of our society have created an atmosphere of discrimination and stigma towards those who are gender non-conforming. When those who are transgender are marginalized and living in a toxic environment, there can be devastating repercussions, such as receiving poor health care, physical violence, and having a high suicide rate among us. Furthermore the lack of gender specialists in the health field to treat and guide our transitions also endangers the lives of transgender adults and our trans-youth. The American Psychological Association (APA) stated that less than 30% of those trained today have been provided education on how to medically treat a person with gender non-conforming issues. The limited training that they receive perpetuates discrimination and often forces the bad choices some transgender people make to get the medically necessary care they deserve.

As an elder transman myself, I have been amazed at the growth in our community and the spirit that we show every day to be heard and recognized. The transgender community is lucky to have allies such as the people at CAMP Rehoboth and the loving support we have gotten from PFLAG Rehoboth and the community churches to help us put on this Mastery workshop in October. While in the workshop we will be able to peel back the layers of disconnect and bring forward the things we may have forgotten, and remind us to look to the future with our own pride. The Transgender Mastery workshop will continue to help us break our own barriers.