Clinical Excellence Meets Lived Experience
affirmative continuing education for psychotherapists working with gender & sexuality
Continuing Education for Psychologists, LMFTs, LCSWs, and LPCCs
Out Couch Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, PC offer pre-recorded homestudies to all licensed mental health professionals in California. If you are registered or licensed in a different state, check with your board to find out if they accept APA approved CEs.
Founded in 2018, The Affirmative Couch offered a hub for LGBTQ-affirming clinical education until its closure in 2025. Dr. Cadyn and Melissa were able to transfer the APA sponsorship to Out Couch Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, PC and ensure their courses continued to be available for the communities they serve.
Continuing Education & Cultural Humility
Less than 30% of psychologists possess the competence required to work with transgender and gender nonbinary individuals. Individuals in these communities face increased challenges in personal relationships, housing and employment stability, and religious or spiritual conflicts that are frequently mirrored within therapy rooms across the country. If you're asking yourself even some of the following questions, you aren't alone:
- Is my office a brave space for LGBTQIA+ clients, or just a friendly and polite one?
- How do I help my client access gender-affirming health care?
- What is my role in my client's medical transition?
- Am I prepared to support the unique minority stressors my client is bringing into therapy?
- How do I balance talking about politics and my client's mental health?
- Am I prepared to supervise LGBTQIA+ clinicians learning to do this work while feeling these threats too?
Instructor(s)
Cadyn Cathers, PsyD, MBA
Instructor
Cadyn Cathers, PsyD, MBA (he/him/his) works to facilitate growth and development so that people can live more authentically and meaningfully. He has been teaching courses on human sexuality, psychotherapy with LGBTQIA+ communities, and psychodynamic theory for over 15 years. He was the founder and CEO of The Affirmative Couch, which provided online continuing education on clinical work with LGBTQIA+, CNM, and kink communities. He is a licensed psychologist in private practice at the Out Couch Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, P.C., where he focuses on psychoanalytic psychotherapy with transgender and nonbinary patients. Additionally, he is adjunct faculty at Southern California University of Health Sciences.
Melissa Dellens, MA, LMFT, TRM-1
Instructor
Melissa Dellens, MA, LMFT (she/they) works to help people reconnect with their ability to work, love, and play with more ease. She has offered professional development training courses and in service training in community settings for over 10 years. She was the COO and an instructor at The Affirmative Couch, which provides online continuing education on clinical work with LGBTQIA+, CNM, and kink communities She has been adjunct faculty at Antioch University Los Angeles and Alliant International University Los Angeles. Melissa is a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor at Out Couch Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, a group practice and training space where LGBTQIA+, CNM/ENM, and kink affirming pre-licensed therapists can learn to incorporate psychoanalytic theory into their work.
Sponsorship Approval
Out Couch Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, PC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Out Couch Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, PC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
