Steensma Thomas D, Wensing-Kruger S Annelijn, Klink Daniel T
Medical psychologist and researcher at the Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where he specializes in transgender care.
Medical psychologist specializing in transgender care, the head of the gender section of the Department of Medical Psychology, and a board member at the Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
AMA J Ethics. 2017 Aug 1;19(8):762-770. doi: 10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.ecas3-1708.
Counseling and treatment of transgender youth can be challenging for mental health practitioners, as increased availability of gender-affirming treatments in recent years raises ethical and clinical questions. Is a gender identity diagnosis helpful? What is the right time to treat, and should the adolescent's age matter in decision making? In this article, we discuss these questions in light of a case in which an adolescent wishes to pursue hormone therapy. Our analysis focuses on the importance of balanced decision making when counseling and treating adolescents with nonconforming gender identities. We argue that clinicians' communicating appropriate expectations about the effectiveness and limitations of hormone therapy and the risks of psychological and physical iatrogenic effects is critical.
对于心理健康从业者而言，为跨性别青少年提供咨询和治疗可能具有挑战性，因为近年来性别肯定治疗的可及性增加引发了伦理和临床问题。性别认同诊断是否有帮助？治疗的合适时机是什么，青少年的年龄在决策过程中是否重要？在本文中，我们根据一个青少年希望接受激素治疗的案例来讨论这些问题。我们的分析重点在于，在为性别认同不符的青少年提供咨询和治疗时，平衡决策的重要性。我们认为，临床医生就激素治疗的效果和局限性以及心理和生理医源性效应的风险传达适当的期望至关重要。
