Transness is our salve: How trans identity facilitates healing from relational trauma with parental figures

Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) individuals experience high rates of relational trauma from parental figures, yet their pathways to healing remain underexplored. This qualitative study used constructivist grounded theory to develop a theoretical framework of how TNB adults heal from parental relational trauma. In-depth interviews with 15 racially and socioeconomically diverse U.S.-based TNB adults who experienced parental relational trauma generated the core phenomenon: "TNB identity and experiences initiate and sustain pathways of healing from parental relational trauma." This captures that rather than being a source of this trauma, recognizing and actualizing one's TNB identity is the central catalyst for healing from it. The healing process began with three conditions: (a) connecting with one's TNB identity/self, (b) gaining new clarity in parental harm through TNB-related parental harm, and (c) experiencing joy and oppression as TNB while lacking parental support. These conditions gave rise to strategies including (d) creating safer homes through queer/TNB chosen family, (e) committing to individual healing through therapy, and (f) reimagining life through ongoing actualization as TNB. The consequences of these strategies, in turn, created conditions that enabled subsequent strategies, including (g) attempting repair and intergenerational work with families of origin, (h) distancing as self-preservation, and (i) returning to TNB communities to sustain healing across generations. The consequences of these processes included personal, intergenerational, and collective healing. The study offers implications for research, clinical practice, and advocacy, calling for approaches that frame TNB identity not as a source of familial conflict but as a central resource for recovery.