Gender Dysphoria in Children and Adolescents: Contemporary Clinical Issues
This talk will consider several contemporary clinical
issues pertaining to children and adolescents diagnosed
with gender dysphoria (DSM-5). With regard to children,
I will review what we know about long-term psychosexual
trajectories with regard to both gender
identity and sexual orientation. In this context, I will
discuss the various therapeutic approaches designed to
reduce gender dysphoria in children (developmentallyinformed
psychotherapy, watchful waiting, and gender
social transition). With regard to adolescents, I will
review three new developments: an altered sex ratio of
referred patients, from one favoring birth-assigned
males to one favoring birth-assigned females; discourse
on suicidality; and “rapid-onset” gender dysphoria
(ROGD)as a new developmental pathway. Regarding
the last development, I will discuss the contemporary
debate as to best-practice issues for the treatment
of ROGD.
Keywords: gender identity, gender dysphoria,
developmental
Conflict of Interest and Disclosure Statement: None
