My name is Jamie Swanson, MA, LMFT, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in the care of transgender and gender expansive adolescents and adults. As of March 2019, I have proudly joined the UCI Gender Diversity Program as an Assistant Clinical Professor.
I received my Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University and my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with minors in both LGBT Studies and Child and Family Development from San Diego State University. I always knew I wanted to work specifically with the LGBTQ+ community, as this is where my passion lies, and at the onset of my profession as a mental health therapist, it narrowed into specializing in work with the transgender community as I trained under another gender specialist and focused my professional skills and knowledge in this area. I have dedicated my career to helping those who may feel marginalized, misunderstood, or in need of a safe space for support as a private practice therapist and gender affirming practices speaker in Costa Mesa, CA.
There is such a strong need for trans-affirming healthcare and for the majority of my career I have witnessed that from the therapy couch perspective. At the Gender Diversity Program, I have the privilege of being able to witness the other side of people’s transition experiences, which I have enjoyed immensely as it allows me to see the hope and light brighten in people’s lives as they attain the medical support and treatment they need and deserve. When people are able to feel more aligned with their true, authentic selves, there is so much more opportunity for overall health and happiness and I am grateful to be able to advocate for those who come to our program for help. Through my role at UCI, I look forward to helping patients and their loved ones across the gender spectrum navigate their emotional healthcare needs as I provide mental health assessment check-ins, psychoeducation for patients and families, and linkages to various community mental health support systems and resources. As our program continues to grow, I hope to be able to witness an expansion of trans-affirming medical and mental health services available for people on their journeys through transition in hopes of being able to meet more of our patients’ various healthcare needs. I am a forever advocate and ally of the transgender, gender diverse, and LGBQ+ communities and feel very honored to be a part of such a wonderful program.