New Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People
September 25, 2011 by gidreform
Kelley Winters, Ph.D.
GID Reform Advocates
http://gidreform.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/new-standards-of-care-for-the-health-of-transsexual-transgender-and-gender-nonconforming-people/ (http://gidreform.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/new-standards-of-care-for-the-health-of-transsexual-transgender-and-gender-nonconforming-people/)
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) released it's 7th Version of Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People (SOC) in Atlanta today. The previous Version 6 was published in 2001. Overall, this newest SOC represents significant forward progress in respecting trans people and affirming the necessity of medical transition care for trans and transsexual individuals who need it. Although controversies and issues of transition care access remain in the SOC7, WPATH has announced a more frequent update process that will hopefully be more responsive to emerging evidence and clinical experience in the future.
First published in 1979, the SOC has provided clinical guidance to medical and mental health providers serving trans people, with an emphasis on transsexual individuals seeking hormonal and/or surgical transition care. In many parts of the world, particularly North America and Europe, the SOC has played a role in enabling access to medical transition care and in enabling medical and surgical practitioners to provide it. However, the SOC has been controversial among trans communities and supportive care providers. For example, prior versions have been critized for unreasonable barriers to medical transition care, pathologizing language of "disordered" gender identities and "gender‐disturbed children," maligning pronouns and terms for transitioned individuals, and compulsory psychotherapy requirements.