2SLGBTQ+ communities face specific health challenges and barriers to accessing care. RHO offers training for healthcare and social service providers to increase their clinical and cultural competency in caring for their 2SLGBTQ+ service users.
With RHO’s new online learning platform, these trainings are easily accessible from anywhere across the province. Visit learn.rainbowhealthontario.ca today to register for your learning account and access on-demand and scheduled courses. You will get a certificate of completion for each course that you finish.
Have questions about securing training for your organization? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.
On-Demand Courses
2SLGBTQ Foundations Course
This self-directed, seven-module course builds your foundational knowledge for providing care to 2SLGBTQ+ people. Open to all, it’s a prerequisite for other RHO courses.
Type: e-Learning
Language: English and French
Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes (self-paced)
Credits (CEU): Earn 3.5 credits
This course’s goal is to heighten your comfort and competency in providing high-quality inclusive, affirming and culturally sensitive care. You’ll learn key 2SLGBTQ+ terminology, understand minority stress and health disparities faced by 2SLGBTQ+ communities, and improve your ability to provide comprehensive care.
Each 30-minute module encourages critical thinking and practical application. Topics include sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, intersectionality, mental health and inclusive language.
This course was developed with feedback from the Online Learning Development Advisory Committee (OLDAC), a team of physicians, nurses, psychologists and 2SLGBTQ+ community members.
Fee: $30
2SLGBTQ+ Older Adults and Inclusive Care
This self-directed course introduces you to providing clinically and culturally competent care to 2SLGBTQ+ seniors, elders, and older adults.
Type: e-Learning
Language: English
Duration: 2 hours (self-paced)
Prerequisite: 2SLGBTQ+ Foundations Course
Through interactive case studies and practice questions, this course strengthens participants’ ability to provide affirming, inclusive care for 2SLGBTQ+ seniors. Learners will examine the lifelong health impacts of stigma and discrimination, alongside resilience factors like care networks and chosen families.
The training also addresses the unique physical and mental health needs of 2SLGBTQ+ older adults, with a focus on best practices for home care and long-term care settings.
Designed for healthcare and social service providers, this course equips professionals with the knowledge and skills to better support 2SLGBTQ+ seniors.
Fee: $20
Upcoming Courses
Gender Affirming Surgeries: Planning, Referral, and Care
June 9, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Learn about initiating and monitoring hormone therapy for trans and gender diverse clients in primary care and about providing community-based gender-affirming services.
Fee: $50
Autism and Gender Identity
June 12, 1-5 p.m.
Learn to explain autism from a neurodiverse perspective, recognize how cisnormativity and neuronormativity influences health care, and identify social determinants of health for autistic trans and non-binary individuals.
Fee: $50
Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy in Primary Health Care
June 18, 1-5 p.m.
Learn about initiating and monitoring hormone therapy for trans and gender diverse clients in primary care and about providing community-based gender-affirming services.
Fee: $50
Trans 101 – Adults and Older Adults
July 11, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Learn to recognize how cisnormativity influences health care, identify social determinants of health and transphobia’s impact, and how to support trans and gender diverse adults and seniors exploring gender identity.
Fee: $20
Instructor-Led Courses
New sessions are added regularly. Review the details below to explore our current offerings and learn more about each course.
This session is a question-and-answer formatted session where learners can ask questions arising from the 2SLGBTQ Foundations course. There will be a short summary of the module’s objectives to remind learners what is covered in the course and to prompt application and extension questions.
Prerequisite: While there is no pre-requisite for this course, we strongly recommend working through several of the modules in the 2SLGBTQ Foundations Course so that you will have specific questions from the content covered in the course.
Open to: Health care and social service providers.
This session will explore how social stigma and discrimination can affect 2SLGBTQ people’s mental and emotional health, become internalized and how unhealthy coping strategies can develop. We will learn of inclusive counselling tips, intersectional framework that incorporates lived experiences, coming out processes, and psychological supports that can protect the individual, affirm sense of self and promote resilience.
Prerequisite: 2SLGBTQ Foundations
Open to: All health care and social service providers who provide counselling and advocacy in a variety of settings. Health care and social service students are welcome to take this course. This is an introductory cultural humility and competence module for health care and social service providers with little or no experience with 2SLGBTQ clients.
The course is introduction to 2SLGBTQ trauma-informed care for health and social service providers who work with people who have experienced trauma. The training integrates the approaches, principles, and competencies of 2SLGBTQ cultural competency with those of trauma-informed care. It is aimed at increasing the capacity of organizations and service providers in providing trauma-informed care to members of the 2SLGBTQ communities.
Prerequisite: 2SLGBTQ Foundations
Open to: Health care and social service providers.
Learn to explain autism from a neurodiverse perspective, recognize how cisnormativity and neuronormativity influences health care access, and identify social determinants of health in relation to the intersection of autism and trans and non-binary identities. Participants will also be able to identify how neuronormativity creates and sustains barriers for autistic people trying to access transition-related health care and provide trans-positive care in the context of interpersonal and systemic discrimination towards autistic people.
Open to: Health care and social service providers.
Prerequisite: 2SLGBTQ Foundations Course. Additionally, RHO strongly recommends learners attend our Trans 101 courses prior to taking this course or have equivalent education or clinical experience. This course requires learners to be well-versed in trans and non-binary identities either through education or equivalent experience.
Learn about initiating and monitoring hormone therapy for trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming clients in primary care and about providing community-based gender-affirming services to trans and gender diverse clients.
Mainpro+ Certification: 4.0 Mainpro-M1 credits (Ontario ONLY).
Open to: While designed for southeastern Ontario practitioners, this session is open to all physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, and students in these fields.
Prerequisite: 2SLGBTQ Foundations Course.
Learn to conduct transition-related surgery planning visits and referrals in Ontario. Participants will learn to explain transition-related surgeries, navigate Ontario’s trans surgical care system, apply WPATH SOC criteria, conduct planning visits, complete the MOHLTC SRS Prior Approval Form, and write referral letters.
Mainpro+ Certification: 4.0 Mainpro-M1 credits (Ontario ONLY).
Open to: Physicians, nurse practitioners, RNs, RSWs, registered psychologists, and students in these fields.
Prerequisite: 2SLGBTQ Foundations Course.
Strongly recommended: Transition-Related Hormone Therapy in Primary Health Care or Trans 101 – Adults and Seniors.
The session addresses creating a positive and welcoming work environment for both 2SLGBTQ staff, clients and volunteers. The workshop will explore various strategies such as specific programs and services, such as HR policies, intake forms, inclusive language, signage, brochures, and online images. We will view various samples of inclusive practices and forms to make your organizational space more 2SLGBTQ friendly.
Prerequisite: 2SLGBTQ Foundations
Open to: Health care and social service providers.
Learn to prepare patients for masculinizing surgeries to minimize the likelihood or severity of post-operative complications, describe common complications post masculinizing surgeries, assess concerning symptoms post masculinizing surgeries and manage common complications that occur after masculinizing surgeries.
Mainpro+ Certification: No Mainpro+ certification at this time.
Prerequisites: 2SLGBTQ Foundations Course and experience working with trans and non-binary people in primary health care.
Open to: Physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, physician assistants, and students in these disciplines.
Join us to learn more about initiating and monitoring puberty suppression for trans and non-binary youth in primary care in Ontario, Canada and about providing collaborative treatment for youth.
Mainpro+ Certification: 4.0 Mainpro-M1 credits (Ontario ONLY).
Prerequisites: 2SLGBTQ Foundations Course and Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy in Primary Health Care or experience providing hormone therapy to trans adults.
Learn to recognize how cisnormativity influences health care and access, identify social determinants of health and the impact of transphobia for trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming adults and seniors, unpack common counselling issues through the lens of intersectionality and minority stress, and explore gender expression and gender identity with clients who are at the beginning of their journey.
Open to: All health care and social service providers who provide counselling and advocacy in a variety of settings as well as students.
Prerequisite: 2SLGBTQ Foundations Course.
After taking this course, attendees will be able to identify social determinants of health and the impact of transphobia for trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming children and youth, provide trans-positive counselling in the context of interpersonal and systemic discrimination that affects mental health, explore with parents of trans and non-binary youth common misconceptions about gender identity and expression, explore gender expression and gender identity with clients who are at the beginning of their journey.
Prerequisite: 2SLGBTQ Foundations
Open to: All health care and social service providers who provide counselling and advocacy in a variety of settings as well as students.
This course will help attendees to explain social and legal transition for children, youth, adults, and seniors, explain puberty suppression for trans and non-binary youth, explain transition-related hormone therapy for trans and non-binary adults and seniors, explain which transition-related surgeries are funded by the government of Ontario, Canada for trans and non-binary adults and seniors, recognize that transition is a process and it is unique for every person, and practice according to WPATH’s Standards of Care.
Prerequisite: 2SLGBTQ Foundations Course
Strongly Recommended: Trans 101 – Children and Youth and/or Trans 101 – Adults and Seniors.
Open to: All health care and social service providers who provide counselling and advocacy in a variety of settings as well as students.
Assessing and managing vaginoplasty complications in primary health care. By the end of this course, participants will be able to prepare patients for vaginoplasty to minimize the likelihood or severity of post-operative complications, describe common complications post vaginoplasty, assess concerning symptoms post vaginoplasty, and manage common complications that occur after vaginoplasty
Prerequisites: 2SLGBTQ Foundations Course and experience working with trans and non-binary people in primary health care.
Open to: Only physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, physician assistants, and students in these disciplines.