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R. Frank, Psy.D., is a 2024 graduate of the Psy.D. Program in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University, New England

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Dr. R. Frank

Dissertation Committee:

  • Shannon McIntyre, PhD, Chairperson
  • Katherine Evarts, PsyD, Committee Member
  • Lorraine Mangione, PhD, Committee Member

Dr. Frank with fairy wings and ears

Doctor / Fairy

Keywords

trans, identity, gender, grief, coming out, disenfranchised grief, queer, mixed methods, feminist, feminist multicultural, social systems, identity formation, identity development, Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, IPA

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

Trans members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and other marginalized sexual and gender identities (LGBT+) community may be at risk of erasure from both dominant sociocultural scripts and clinical psychological research. Identity development experts have asserted that identity is fixed by late adolescence, with some room for evolution depending on context (Marcia, 2002; Sokol, 2009). Research about grief suggests that anything that has been lost has the potential to be experienced through the lens of grief (Chapple et al., 2016; Collings, 2007). This grief of non-death loss has been linked to loss of relationships, expected life trajectory, and self-concept. The loss of relationship to the previous gender label has not been discussed in the extant literature. This lack of research might both be endemic to and perpetuate self-concealment in LGBT+ communities. Trans individuals might also be vulnerable to grief, becoming disenfranchised and exacerbated by lack of representation. The current dissertation offers a mixed-method Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to address gaps in the extant literature. Surprisingly, the current research supports that, while internal processes may play a role in shifting gender labels, participants are more impacted overall by the loss of social factors such as understanding self in relation to social environment. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

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Dr. Frank in a butterfly garden, wearhing a black face mask, with a monarch butterfly sitting on their finger.

Dr. Frank

ORCID: 0009-0005-4979-7393

Bio:

RJ Frank earned their Bachelor of Arts at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where they majored in clinical psychology with a minor in neuroscience. Immediately upon graduation, they received a grant to continue working on the development of games to treat spatial neglect, to support writing and publishing a meta-analytic article in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, and to attend the Neurotechnology, Innovation, Commercialization, and Entrepreneurship (NICE) Institute at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They earned a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia where they developed a novel measure of retrospective caregiver sensitivity guided by Attachment Theory. They earned their doctorate of clinical psychology from Antioch University in Keene, New Hampshire wherein their dissertation focused on the complexity of trans identity development in consideration of both inter and intra-personal factors. Throughout their career, RJ has worked in Arts and Music nonprofit administration, advocated with disabled students to meet their unique learning needs, and served on the Leadership Team of the Antioch Virtual Writing Center. Their core philosophies center on exploring, facilitating, and celebrating each person's unique story, especially when those stories may be systemically undervalued.

Publications and Presentations

Champod, A. S., Frank, R. C., Taylor, K., & Eskes, G. A. (2016). The effects of prism adaptation on daily life activities in patients with visuospatial neglect: a systematic review. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 28(4), 491–514. https://doi.org/10.1080/09602011.2016.1182032

Dr. R. Frank looking up at butterflies in a butterfly garden

Dr. R. Frank

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