In a move that’s been anticipated since this summer, the American Psychiatric Association has officially approved a revision to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) declassifying “gender identity disorder” as a mental illness.
The implications of this change: transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals’ identities are no longer considered mental illnesses. It’s astounding that it’s taken until now for this to happen. Homosexuality was declassified as a mental illness in 1973, and that was already pretty late in the game.
Instead, people who may have been previously diagnosed with “gender identity disorder,” a label often used to discriminate against trans people, will be diagnosed with gender dysphoria to describe “the emotional distress that can result from ‘a marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and assigned gender.’”
This will allow for affirmative treatment and transition care without the stigma of disorder. Earlier this year, the APA also released new health guidelines for transgender patients, as well as a position statement affirming transgender care and civil rights. Both documents align with a new standard for respecting trans people in the medical community.
Huge, huge news. Trans followers, what say you?
I think that this is really great, because being trans* isn’t an illness. I do think of my dysphoria in the same way I think of my anxiety or depression partially because they all interact with each other and I think that it’d be great if more therapists were taught how to treat dysphoria and how to council trans* people without making them feel alienated. I’m hoping this will be a huge step in the right direction.
APA officially removes gender identity disorder from DSM: