(27-05-2014, 04:24 AM)flamesabers Wrote:(17-05-2014, 08:23 PM)ClaraKay Wrote: Our gender issues are not a mental disorder, nor are they a paraphilia. Now we just have to make the public at large understand these basic facts.
My thoughts exactly. No doubt conflict and confusion about one gender's identity can cause the person distress, but I don't think that equates as a mental disorder for everyone that has a cross-gender or non-binary gender identity. This reminds me of how homosexuality was included and then subsequently removed from the dsm in the 1970s.
Can including gender dysphoria in the dsm be helpful for those who seek professional help? Yes, I think so. However, I don't like the implication that being transgender is a disorder that needs to be fixed.
It was very helpful to me to show my wife that DSM-V no longer considers a transgender identity a 'disorder'. It is only the dysphoria associated with being transgender that needs treatment; treatment which is spelled out in the Standards of Care (SOC).
Clara
