Demystifying the process of psychosocial assessment prior to receiving gender-affirming medical care

Abstract

Psychosocial assessment by a qualified mental health provider, colloquially referred to as “getting a letter,” is recommended for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals seeking gender-affirming medical care (GAMC). This study used an online survey to examine the logistics and overall affective responses of TGD adults (n = 134) to this process. Findings revealed that, to varying degrees, participants were involved in several steps to obtaining the letter, including seeing the letter before it was sent to medical providers. Overall, participants reported generally positive experiences with the process of “getting a letter” based on the affective measures of empowerment, stigma, helpfulness, and harm, with transgender women feeling more empowered than transgender men in the process. Documenting the lived experiences of TGD adults seeking GAMC is a critical step on the path to realizing health equity.

Keywords:

• Gender-affirming medical care
• health equity
• transgender and gender diverse (TGD)
• psychosocial assessment

Note

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our research participants for their time and effort and the Trans Collaborations Local Community Board for their involvement and recommendations for this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

IRB approval

This study was reviewed and approved by the University of Nebraska at Kearney IRB (Protocol Number: #040220-1).

Notes

1 The three gender diverse participants were excluded from analyses comparing gender identities due to the small N.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the Minority Health Disparities Initiative, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska.