Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Feb 2023)
Gender Dysphoria: Optimizing Healthcare for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth with a Multidisciplinary Approach
Abstract
Claire A Coyne,1,2 Briahna T Yuodsnukis,1 Diane Chen1– 3 1Potocsnak Family Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; 2Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA; 3Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USACorrespondence: Claire A Coyne, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, 225 East Chicago Avenue, Box 161B, Chicago, IL, 60611-2605, USA, Tel +1 312 227 6316, Fax +1 312 227 9446, Email [email protected]: Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth and their families are seeking medical and mental health care at increasing rates. As the number of multidisciplinary pediatric gender programs expands, we consider the history and evidence base for gender affirmative care and highlight existing models of care that can flexibly accommodate the diverse needs of TGD youth and their families. Comprehensive multidisciplinary care includes both medical and mental health providers who work collaboratively with TGD youth and their caregivers to assess gender-related support needs and facilitate access to developmentally appropriate medical and mental health interventions. In addition to direct health-care services, multidisciplinary care for TGD youth and their families extends into community training, education, community outreach, nonmedical programming, and advocacy for TGD youth.Keywords: transgender, gender diversity, gender-affirming care, multidisciplinary care
