Report of the American Psychiatric Association Task Force on Treatment of Gender Identity Disorder.

Both the diagnosis and treatment of Gender Identity Disorder (GID) are controversial. Although linked, they are separate issues and the DSM does not evaluate treatments. The Board of Trustees (BOT) of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), therefore, formed a Task Force charged to perform a critical review of the literature on the treatment of GID at different ages, to assess the quality of evidence pertaining to treatment, and to prepare a report that included an opinion as to whether or not sufficient credible literature exists for development of treatment recommendations by the APA. The literature on treatment of gender dysphoria in individuals with disorders of sex development was also assessed. The completed report was accepted by the BOT on September 11, 2011. The quality of evidence pertaining to most aspects of treatment in all subgroups was determined to be low; however, areas of broad clinical consensus were identified and were deemed sufficient to support recommendations for treatment in all subgroups. With subjective improvement as the primary outcome measure, current evidence was judged sufficient to support recommendations for adults in the form of an evidence-based APA Practice Guideline with gaps in the empirical data supplemented by clinical consensus. The report recommends that the APA take steps beyond drafting treatment recommendations. These include issuing position statements to clarify the APA's position regarding the medical necessity of treatments for GID, the ethical bounds of treatments of gender variant minors, and the rights of persons of any age who are gender variant, transgender or transsexual.

A therapeutic group for parents of transgender adolescents.

Therapy for transgender, transsexual, and gender variant persons has traditionally assisted individuals in the process of adjusting to their newly adopted gender role. Increasingly, younger gender variant patients,teens and preteens, present to the clinical consultation raising the need to develop therapeutic interventions that better address the psychosocial needs of minors. The Gender and Sexuality Development Program at Children's National Medical Center (CNMC) in Washington,DC (http://www.childrensnational.org/gendervariance), provides outpatient psychosocial evaluations and therapeutic services for children,adolescents, and their families.