What is TAG TEAM?

TAG TEAM is a group therapy program that is designed to help target the stressors that negatively impact the mental health of trans and gender diverse adolescents.

The Transgender Health team are running a study to test whether TAG TEAM improves the mental health and well-being of trans and gender diverse adolescents in Australia.

More about the program

TAG TEAM was developed with trans and gender diverse young people and experienced clinicians and researchers in Australia, meaning that it is based on the experiences and needs of these communities.

TAG TEAM is delivered by a peer facilitator with lived experience of gender diversity, and a psychologist, over six weeks in two hour sessions.

There are up to eight trans adolescents in each group, and the groups are divided into school year (years 7-9, and years 10-12).

Key topics covered in TAG TEAM are:

• Connection to community
• Coping with discrimination and rejection
• Fostering pride in identity
• Strategies for tackling stigma

Register your interest

For more information about the study or to register your interest, visit the Information for Participants section or use the link below to submit an expression of interest.

Register your interest

Watch the TAG TEAM explainer

In this video, Lux (they/them) takes you through the TAG TEAM project.

This video was developed by those with lived experience of gender diversity, in collaboration with a steering group of trans and gender diverse young people.

Study details

This study is a randomised controlled trial (RCT) testing the effectiveness of TAG TEAM to improve the mental health and well-being of trans and gender diverse adolescents aged 12-17 years.

A steering committee of trans and gender diverse young people helped with the design and content of TAG TEAM, as well as the design, coordination, and running of the study.

Eligible participants will be randomly allocated to one of two groups:

1. One group will attend TAG TEAM once enrolled in the study.
2. The other group will be placed onto a waitlist to attend TAG TEAM four-to-five months later.

Participants residing in Victoria will have the option to attend TAG TEAM sessions online or in-person. Participants in other states and territories will be able to attend online only.

Your eligibility

We are seeking 142 trans and gender diverse adolescents from across Australia who:

• are aged 12-17 years
• have completed primary school
• are not enrolled in tertiary studies (university)
• are experiencing psychological distress
• are not experiencing acute suicidality
• are not participating in another group therapy program, AND
• did not participate in the TAG TEAM feasibility trial

Trans and gender diverse young people who meet the above criteria and are interested in participating, as well as their parents or legal guardians, can submit an expression of interest.

Register your interest

Co-design of TAG TEAM

The TAG TEAM group therapy program was co-designed with six trans and gender diverse young people from Melbourne, Victoria. Over three workshops, researchers and clinicians from MCRI worked with the co-designers to develop the first version of the TAG TEAM program.

“There’s hope and there’s a future for all of us”: Co-design of a group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention for trans young people (TAG TEAM)"

Find out more about this study.

Feasibility trial of TAG TEAM

The next phase of the TAG TEAM project was a feasibility trial, which was conducted between 2023-2024.

This trial assessed the acceptability of the TAG TEAM program for trans and gender diverse adolescents who were:

• aged 14-16
• residing in Victoria, and
• were on the waitlist to access the Royal Children's Hospital Gender Service.

This study included 28 trans and gender diverse adolescents who attended 4 TAG TEAM groups (two in-person and two online). Participants provided feedback on the structure, content, and delivery of the program.

Based on this feedback and advice from our steering committee, we redesigned the TAG TEAM program to make it more acceptable and accessible for trans and gender diverse young people.

“I could be one of those people that’s alive and happy”: a qualitative exploration of a co-designed group therapy program targeting gender minority stress for trans young people (TAG TEAM)

Find out more about this feasiblity trial.

Lead researcher

• Dr Tim Cronin, Principal Investigator, MCRI
  
  

Project members

• Associate Professor Ken Pang, Chief Investigator, MCRI
• Dr Carmen Pace, Chief Investigator, MCRI
• Dr Michelle Tollit, Chief Investigator, MCRI
• Dr Sophie Nielsen, PhD candidate, University of Melbourne
• Natalie Saunders, Trial Coordinator, MCRI
• Eliza Burnie, Research Assistant, MCRI
• Lux Newman, Research Assistant, MCRI
• Anneke Grobler, Biostatistician, CEBU
• TAG TEAM Steering Group

Funding

Thanks to our key partners, funders, and supporters:

• The Royal Children's Hospital Foundation Mental Health Strategy
• Medical Research Future Fund
• Victorian Medical Research Accelerator Fund
  
  

Collaborators

TAG TEAM was developed at Murdoch Children's Research Institute, with contributing organisations including:

• Beyond Sticky Notes
• headspace
• La Trobe University
• The Royal Children's Hospital
• Transcend Australia
• University of Melbourne

For more information about TAG TEAM, please contact us.

Dr Tim Cronin, Principal Investigator, Transgender Health

Email: show email address
Phone: show phone number