Elise Turen

 

Elise Turen, Associate Director of the Los Angeles Gender Center-PhD, ACS

 

As a Board Certified Clinical Sexologist, I have been a practitioner in the field of Human Sexuality for 28 years. I was called to this work early in my life, while as teenager I was exposed to experiences considered “outside the box” or gender non-normative. Their impact so profound, that I began to challenge the deeply held beliefs surrounding what it meant to be either a man or a woman in our culturally prescribed, heteronormative society. Thus early on, I recognized the complexities regarding an individual’s true proclivities when defining themselves meaningfully in their gendered and sexual self. My expertise is in working with individuals, couples, and families coping with issues of gender identity, DSD’s and their many related concerns, sexual abuse and trauma to the body, and addictive illnesses in hospital, institutional and educational settings. For the past 17 years at LAGC, it has been my heartfelt mission to create a safe space for my clients to explore the diversity of their gendered self, along with the developing insight of the inherent rights to their anatomy and sexual health and expression. I have conducted extensive research on the effects internalized transphobia has on a transexxed individual, specifically during their gender transition.

 

Along with facilitating a bi-annual trans-inclusive retreat for the past 10 years, I have conducted numerous trainings through out the country for institutions raising their awareness regarding transgender people and their rights in society and the workplace. Public advocacy is as essential as my clinical practice, and I hold professional membership with the World Professional Association of Transgender health (WPATH), Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS) and the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT).