Deborah Coolhart

Assistant Professor Coolhart is a expert in issues related to family therapy with a focus on clinical issues of transgender people and their families. Her leadership was the catalyst for the Transgender Treatment Team which continues to provide services in the Central New York community.

Coolhart’s scholarly interests include clinical issues related to marginalized and queer experiences and relationships. Her recently published manuscripts have appeared in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy and the Journal of Family Psychotherapy, with an invited chapter also recently published entitled, “Supporting Transgender Youth and Their Families in Therapy,” in the Handbook of LGBT-Affirmative Couple and Family Therapy (Routledge Press). In 2011, she was honored with the Outstanding Citizen Award from SU’s LGBT Resource Center and received the Chancellor’s Award for Public Service for her work on the Transgender Treatment Team in 2006. She is currently engaged in research exploring the relationship between gender transition and life satisfaction, family relationships, social support, and mental health. She is also conducting research exploring the experiences of the children of transgender parents.