Diane Ehrensaft, Ph.D. is a developmental and clinical psychologist in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Director of Mental Health and founding member of the Child and Adolescent Gender Center, a partnership between the University of California San Francisco and community agencies to provide comprehensive interdisciplinary services and advocacy to gender nonconforming/ transgender children and youth and their families. She is an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California San Francisco and the chief psychological at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Child and Adolescent Gender Center Clinic (more information about the CAGC clinic can be obtained at their website). As part of her duties as the CAGC Director of Mental Health, Dr. Ehrensaft heads Mind the Gap, the mental health child gender specialist consortium within the center. Bay Area child, adolescent, and family therapists with specialization or interest in being trained in the gender affirmative model of mental health care can contact Dr. Ehrensaft about joining the Mind the Gap consortium, which meets monthly in Oakland, California for training, presentations, and discussions.
Dr. Ehrensaft’s research and writing focus on the areas of child development, gender, gender-nonconforming and transgender children and youth, parenting, parent-child relationships, LGBTQI families, and psychological issues for families using assisted reproductive technology. She has published several books and articles in these areas and lectures, serves as an expert witness, and makes media appearances nationally and internationally on these topics. Dr. Ehrensaft is presently working with Dr. Stephen Rosenthal, the medical director of the UCSF CAGC gender clinic, and three other sites in the U.S. on a five-year study funded by an NIH grant to study the medical and mental health outcomes of gender-nonconforming youth receiving puberty blockers and/or cross-sex hormones as part of their gender affirmative care.
Dr. Ehrensaft has a clinical practice in Oakland, California, where she sees adults, children, and adolescents in individual psychotherapy, both long and short-term. She also does parenting consultation, gender assessments and consultations, co-parenting counseling, and couples therapy related to parenting, gender, or assisted reproductive technology issues. Her areas of specialization include: gender nonconforming and transgender children; families using assisted reproductive technology; divorce issues; children with developmental issues or neurodiversity; parenting.
Dr. Ehrensaft is a senior consultant, founding member, and board member of A Home Within, a national project focused on the emotional needs of children and youth in foster care and offering pro bono long-term psychotherapy to children in foster care. More information about A Home Within can be obtained at: www.ahomewithin.org.
Dr.Ehrensaft also serves on the Board of Gender Spectrum, a national organization offering educational, training and advocacy services to promote gender acceptance for youth of all diverse genders. Information can be obtained at www.genderspectrum.org.