We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Katie Leikam. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Katie below.

Hi Katie, thanks for joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

Years ago, a great friend took me to a meetup group of transgender women that she organized. I was at a place that I didn’t have a lot of friends in town because I lived in Athens and all my friends had moved on after college. It was a fun night and I met a great group of women. Many of these women went on to become my friends as well. But, as I sat at dinner, I started hearing a theme to some of the conversations. These women were having to undergo months of therapy to do things like start hormones or have gender affirming surgeries. I didn’t understand how these women, who happened to be transgender, had to jump through so many hoops to just be who they are. I sat at dinner thinking, this isn’t fair. If I need something done, I don’t have to go to therapy to prove who I am. I didn’t understand how a therapist would hold months of therapy over their head for life saving medical care. At the time I was an associate licensed clinician and was unable to open my own practice, but I decided then and there that as soon as I was able, I would open my own private practice and stop gatekeeping the transgender community with a minimum of required sessions for gender affirming care. It really was a defining moment for me, listening to transgender voices, and hearing about these letters, and even women traveling from South Georgia to Atlanta just to find an affirming therapist. So, when I finally did become an LCSW, I immediately opened my private practice and did not put minimums on sessions for gender affirming care. I also offered video sessions all over Georgia and South Carolina so people in rural areas would have access to transgender affirming care.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Simply put, I help the transgender and gender expansive community have the courage to be who they are.

I am an MBA and licensed clinical social worker in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and telehealth LCSW in Florida. I am a World Professional Association of Transgender Health GEI SOC v7 certified member, author of The Gender Identity Journal, Prompts and Practices for Exploration and Self Discovery, educator and consultant to other health professionals and national speaker on transgender mental health. I have an online continuing education school called The Clinician’s LGBTQIA Learning Platform. I am registered with the Secular Therapists Network.

I have a private practice where I see clients from ages 12 to adults who are part of the LGBTQ, transgender and gender expansive community. I work with themes of gender identity, anxiety, religious trauma, autism and relationship stress. What sets me apart from others are my specialized training and passion for working with the transgender community. I love to work with tweens and teenagers and bring parents and transgender and gender expansive kids together to understand and show love for each other so the child can grow and thrive. I love to help adults find freedom from religious trauma and own their own gender identity.

I also love to chat with clients about their favorite music (I love concerts and festivals) and hear about their latest D&D campaigns. I absolutely love it when clients that I helped start taking hormones, come back to me for their top surgery and gender affirming surgery letters. I love to help people be who they are. What I want people to know about me is that they CAN be who they are around me. I want my clients to be who they are and live their life authentically.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think the biggest thing that helped build my reputation was the shear amount of training I have had with working with the transgender and gender expansive community. Before I started speaking at gender conferences, I attended everyone I possibly could to hear from my colleagues and other experts in the field. I started obtaining my WPATH certification in 2017 was one of the first people in the state to be certified.

Mostly though, think I am very down to earth and try to make sure people know they are actually the experts in their own gender identity, not me.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

The therapeutic relationship you have with your clients is the most important thing to help you succeed in our field. We (therapists) are nothing without our clients and being able to sit in the room with our clients and share their greatest fears, joys, laughter, accomplishments, setbacks and maybe a cuss word or two, are the most important thing to succeed, You have to be able to sit with your clients before any change will take place.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://katieleikam.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katieleikam/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katieleikamlcsw
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katieleikam/
• Other: My trainings: https://katieleikam.com/presentations-training/ The Gender Identity Journal: Prompts and Practices for Exploration and Self Discovery https://www.amazon.com/dp/1638077088

Image Credits
Headshot by Bonnie Heath Book Cover by Rockridge Press Katie in red plaid dress by Valiant Marketing Katie with her dogs by Dani Weiss Photography