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Disorder, Dysphoria, or Just Diverse

Posted by Transgender Education Collaboration on May 15, 2012 at 9:45 PM

By Jena Lewis

In just a few weeks we will be seeing the next generation of the psychiatric diagnosis bible the “DSM 5” hit the shelves. This is great news for the mental health industry, but is it good news for us the gender diverse? It doesn’t seem so.

Back in 1973 the addition of the DSM that came out that year no longer pathogized being gay or a lesbian, but we transgender or gender queer people were not as lucky, still to this day we are seen by the diagnostic codes as mentally ill, and even worse, come June we still will be for at least the next 12 years too.

The arguments I have heard from the psychiatric community is changing the name of our naturally occurring “condition” slightly we will be changing the stigma attached with being in this book of mental illnesses. What is your thoughts? Is there a bright side of us still being in a manual of mental illnesses?

After all it is this stigma the lawyers of Bradley Manning are using to say he was not worthy of military secretes. It is also for this reason that if you are out as a transgender person you cannot serve in the United States Military. What are your thoughts?


For more info or oppinions about Transgender people and the DSM you can follow these links

http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=482

 http://midwestgenderqueer.com/index.php/tag/gender-identity-disorder/

http://planetransgender.blogspot.com/2012/05/dsm-update-apa-to-sugarcoat.html

http://www.gidreform.org/

 

Categories: Advocacy, Personal Thoughts and Stories

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2 Comments

Reply Nick
10:12 PM on May 15, 2012 
I do not like the fact that trans* people are considered to have some sort of pathology. But given the environment of today's healthcare system, with regard to a medical transition, the label is what enables trans* individuals to get treatment at times, so I don't mind it being in the DSM.
Reply Jolene Gillies
12:05 AM on May 16, 2012 
I don't think there is any benefit in keeping a diagnosis for us in the DSM. The biggest reason for keeping one is that it provides a basis for providers such as therapists to bill for services that some us need. I have not found that insurance companies will allow payment for a diagnosis of anything related to gender identity. Lets have it removed and kept in the ICD where it belongs and if a transgender person needs mental health care let us go to a therapist like me and be diagnosed with depression or what ever we are experiencing but not for who we are. My identity is not disordered and being transgender may be a social stressor but not a disorder. It will take a long time but those who discrimination will no longer be able to say that we are mentally ill just because we are in the DSM.