What is The Systemic Provider Training for Queer Youth Clients?
In addition to my private practice, I serve as the Program Director at Denver Family Institute (DFI), a post-graduate institute accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). DFI is dedicated to training clinicians to become skilled and compassionate family and intimate relationship therapists.
In this role, I have seen the growing need for systemic therapists—those working with families, couples, and relational systems of all kinds-to develop a strong, queer-informed foundation for providing ethical and competent care.
To meet this need, I am the Project Lead for our ground-breaking Systemic Provider Training for Queer Youth Clients, the first program of its kind to expand beyond existing queer-informed and affirming best practices. This program includes clinical and content-focused courses. Students in the clinical SPTQYC track receive group supervision from me, and present a final Capstone project that demonstrates their growth in the program.
The program is grounded in my emerging Queer Adjusted Systemic Lens (QASL), a new model of family therapy that centers queer experience while honoring the experiences of others within the system. Coursework builds directly on this model and includes the following classes:
Why is This Program Essential?
There’s a common misconception that “any decent therapist” can provide effective care for the queer community. The reality is, without specialized training, even the most well-intentioned therapists can cause harm-especially in family therapy. Too often, therapists unintentionally:
Prioritize the comfort of family members or partners over the queer client’s experience
Reinforce stereotypes or harmful assumptions due to lack of knowledge
Frame queerness itself as the “problem” within the family system
Withhold affirming care because of discomfort or uncertainty
When this happens in a family therapy setting, the impact can be particularly deep: therapists may inadvertently side with unsupportive parents, minimize the queer person’s lived experience, or fracture family trust rather than strengthen it. The result? Many queer clients leave therapy believing all therapy is unsafe. Some have experienced harm from their providers, and many think twice before engaging in therapy again.
For queer youth, the consequences are even more urgent. They face higher rates of suicide and self-harm, housing insecurity, substance use, survival sex, and school bullying than their peers. Competent, affirming therapy can be life-changing—and lifesaving.
That’s why we created the Systemic Provider Training for Queer Youth Clients at Denver Family Institute, built on the Queer Adjusted Systemic Lens (QASL)-a groundbreaking model of family therapy that centers queer experience while keeping the whole system in view. QASL equips therapists to see queerness not as a barrier to family connection, but as a source of resilience, identity, and healing.
What You’ll Gain
Practical QASL tools and frameworks you can apply immediately with individuals, couples, and families to center queer experience in systemic work
Concrete interventions for working with parents, caregivers, and youth that reduce harm and strengthen family bonds
Confidence in navigating gender-affirming medical care, including writing letters and supporting youth through access to puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, and beyond
A systemic understanding of power, privilege, and oppression, with opportunities to reflect on your own positionality and its impact on your work
A richer perspective on family therapy itself, grounded in QASL’s core principle: that affirming the queer client does not alienate others in the system, but creates space for everyone’s growth
Program Format
3 different tracks are available to meet a wide range of professional needs:
Clinical track with Mini Certificate: Designed for clinicians, this track dives deeper into the course material via group supervision and Capstone Presentations by participants.
Non-clinical: This track is ideal for non-clinical professionals who wish to deepen their learning and ability to work with the queer youth community in a variety of settings. Broaden your understanding of queer youth via live and asynchronous courses, ideal for non-clinical professionals.
A la Carte Courses: Enroll in individual synchronous and asynchronous courses to enhance your knowledge as a clinician or non-clinician.
