Harper G. Berriman

Harper Berriman is a 25-year-old transgender male who received gender confirmation surgeries with the Center for Gender Surgery and the Gender Affirming Surgical Perioperative Program team at Boston Children’s Hospital. Harper received his bachelor's degree in counseling with minors in social work and psychology and is currently pursuing his master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling, with a specialization in LGBTQ+ issues. Harper has worked as a milieu counselor in the adolescent inpatient psychiatry department at Boston Children's Hospital, where he educated his coworkers on ways to support gender diverse individuals, and the ways in which gender identity often goes hand-in-hand with mental illnesses. Harper also worked with both the patients and their families to foster a sense of understanding of gender identity as well as the resources available to them in the community upon discharge. While working at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harper had the opportunity to share his unique experience and perspective of the care opportunities for gender diverse individuals that Boston Children's Hospital has to offer, speaking during anesthesia and urology grand rounds as well as presenting at the pride month celebration. In 2021 Harper moved to Portland, Oregon, and began working as a behavioral health therapist on an adolescent inpatient psychiatry unit, where he continues to advocate for gender diverse patients and educate his peers/coworkers through trainings and presentations. Harper plans to continue to utilize both his personal and professional experiences to pursue a career as a mental health therapist for gender diverse youth.