Professor honored for work in areas of gender diversity

The American Psychological Association has honored a University of Georgia College of Education professor for her collaborative work on education and advocacy among transgender and gender nonconforming populations.

The association's Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity has selected Anneliese Singh, professor in the department of counseling and human development services, along with her colleague, lore m. dickey of Northern Arizona University, as co-winners of the 2017 Outstanding Achievement Award. Singh is also associate dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the College of Education.

Last year, Singh and dickey co-authored a groundbreaking book that introduced the concept of "affirmative counseling" for transgender and gender nonconforming clients. The book, "Affirmative Counseling and Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients," guides counselors to be culturally relevant and responsive to their clients' identities while also addressing social inequities, resilience and coping, and other barriers faced by this population.

Prior to their book, Singh and dickey co-chaired the American Psychological Association's task force that developed guidelines for working with transgender and gender nonconforming clients. Their book expands on these guidelines through advice and strategies for counselors.

The APA committee's Outstanding Achievement Award recognizes psychologists for significant contributions to the mission of the committee, which includes studying and evaluating issues concerning sexual orientation and gender diverse psychologists, encouraging research in the areas of sexual orientation and gender diversity among adults and youth, developing educational materials and examining the consequences of stereotypes and inaccurate information.

The award will be given during next month's APA convention in Washington, D.C.