GUIDELINES FOR TRANSGENDER CARE (PB 2007)

Get the tools to effectively meet the needs of transgender people in your community

Guidelines for Transgender Care is a one-of-a-kind guidebook for training practitioners to meet the healthcare and social services needs of transgender people in their community. Based on a collaboration between community-based health professionals in British Columbia and international experts in transgender health, these guidelines address both the transition-related needs of transsexuals and also the broader health issues of crossdressers, drag kings/queens, androgynous individuals, Two Spirit individuals, and people who are bi- or multi-gendered. This practical handbook is an essential resource for community-based family physicians, nurses, social workers, counselors, speech therapists, and other clinicians with an interest in transgender care.

Improving transgender individuals’ access to health and social services takes not only awareness of and sensitivity to transgender health concerns but also clinical competency. Guidelines for Transgender Care explains a wide range of clinical issues practitioners need to consider when providing health and social services for transgender individuals, and suggests evidence-based best practice guidelines relating to primary medical care, mental health care, care of transgender adolescents, hormone therapy, sex reassignment surgery, speech/voice change, and social and medical advocacy. Frameworks for comprehensive training of community-based professionals is also discussed. Each chapter is extensively referenced.

Topics in Guidelines for Transgender Care discussed include:

• primary medical care
  
• counseling
  
• clinical management of gender dysphoria
  
• ethics, the law, and psychosocial issues
  
• endocrine therapy
  
• sex reassignment surgery (SRS)
  
• transgender speech feminization and masculinization
  
• case advocacy
  
• training community-based clinicians
  
  

Guidelines for Transgender Care is crucial, insightful information for health practitioners of all types, social workers, educators, and students.

Walter O. Bockting, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and Associate Professor at the Program in Human Sexuality, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis. He is also on the university's graduate faculty of feminist studies. He directs the University of Minnesota Transgender Health Services, integrating clinical service, education, and research to promote the health and well-being of the transgender community. Dr. Bockting is the author of Transgender HIV Prevention: A Minnesota Response to a Global Health Concern, and editor of the International Journal of Transgenderism; Gender Dysphoria: Interdisciplinary Approaches in Clinical Management (Haworth); Transgender and HIV: Risks, Prevention, and Care (Haworth); Masturbation as a Means of Achieving Sexual Health (Haworth); and Transgender Health and HIV Prevention (Haworth). He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality and the Journal of Homosexuality. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and is the Past-President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.

Joshua Mira Goldberg, has been involved in the transgender community since 1996, co-founding three transgender organizations and working on numerous policy, education, research, and legislative initiatives. As a community activist and health researcher Joshua led the community consultation that led to the creation of the Transgender Health Program, and coordinated the program's startup for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority from 2003-2004. He is currently an Education Consultant for the program, focusing on development of advanced clinical training for health and social service professionals. Joshua is the author of numerous publications relating to transgender issues and has been an invited presenter at universities, colleges, and conferences speaking about transgender health and community development. His previous work includes Making the Transition: Providing Services to Trans Survivors of Violence and Abuse and Trans People in the Criminal Justice System: A Guide for Criminal Justice Personnel.