A 28-year-old woman identifies as a transgender woman (assigned male at birth, identifies as female). She requests gender-affirming hormone therapy. According to WPATH Standards of Care Version 8, which of the following is the CORRECT conceptualisation of this clinical scenario?
- A She has gender identity disorder, a psychiatric illness requiring psychiatric cure before hormones can be prescribed
- B She has gender dysphoria under DSM-5; WPATH SOC 8 supports an informed-consent model and depathologises gender diversity — hormone therapy can be provided without mandatory psychotherapy clearance ✓
- C She must be diagnosed with gender dysphoria AND have completed 12 months of psychotherapy before hormones
- D The only evidence-based treatment is psychotherapy to reconcile her with her biological sex
Explanation
WPATH Standards of Care Version 8 (2022) represents a significant shift: gender diversity is explicitly depathologised, and the informed-consent model is supported (hormone therapy without mandatory letters/psychotherapy in most adults with capacity). DSM-5 uses 'gender dysphoria' (replacing ICD-10 'gender identity disorder') — the distress from incongruence is the focus, not the identity itself. ICD-11 has moved gender incongruence to Chapter 17 (Conditions Related to Sexual Health), further de-medicalising it. Evidence-based treatment includes gender-affirming hormone therapy, not conversion therapy.
Reference: Kaplan & Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry, 11th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.