ALIGNING BODIES WITH MINDS: THE CASE FOR MEDICAL AND SURGICAL TREATMENT OF GENDER DYSPHORIA

A Guest Essay by
Rebecca Allison, M.D., FACC, FACP
Chair, American Medical Association Advisory Committee
On Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues
President-Elect, Gay and Lesbian Medical Association

http://gidreform.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/aligning-bodies-with-minds-the-case-for-medical-and-surgical-treatment-of-gender-dysphoria/

A presentation given to the
Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association
San Francisco, May 18, 2009

As a physician who has successfully completed the process of transition from male to female, I find it strange and inappropriate that I may still be considered "mentally ill" by those who would take literally the diagnosis of "gender identity disorder" in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). I believe such a diagnosis is incorrect, and submit this review to support my belief.

I'd like to begin by offering an example from my medical practice in support of the idea that "outcomes do matter" – that a favorable clinical outcome, reproducible from one patient to the next, validates the medical and/or surgical treatment prescribed for the diagnosis.