Exploring Provider Treatment Models in Interpreting the Standards of Care

ABSTRACT

This paper examines version 6 of the Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders (SOC) of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health. The SOC help providers to “understand the parameters within which they may offer assistance to” transgender clients. Flexibility is one of the strengths of the SOC, allowing for customization both at the client and provider level. Treatment models consistent with the SOC range from strict to liberal, with the latter often termed “harm reduction” or less accurately “informed consent”¹ models. Unfortunately, many transgender clients and even some providers do not understand the SOC's flexibility. This misunderstanding occurs despite specific language that the standards are “flexible directions for the treatment of persons with gender identity disorders.” The authors suggest that providers have a responsibility to examine the SOC, determine their own model of care, and communicate this to clients. Providers can use the framework of the SOC to define their practice models. We also suggest areas for improvement in the forthcoming version 7 of the SOC. Our examination is informed by a wide range of practices within the United States of America and internationally that are all consistent with the SOC.

KEYWORDS:

• World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH)
• standards of care
• treatment model
• interpretation
• provider

Notes

. All providers of transgender care should ensure the informed consent of patients. Informed consent implies that patients who agree to undergo treatment are doing so with a reasonable knowledge of the risks, benefits, and alternatives. The ability and willingness of a client to give informed consent does not imply that a given treatment must then be provided by an individual professional.