Gender and sexual identity are immensely complicated topics. An expert on human sexuality, Mark Yarhouse offers a Christian perspective of transgender identity that eschews simplistic answers, engages the latest research and listens to people's stories. This accessible guide challenges Christians to rise above the politics and come alongside individuals navigating these issues.

In recent years, there has been an explosion in the number of children and young people who diagnose themselves as gender dysphoric, or trans. In the UK, and worldwide, there is a growing tendency to refer them on to 'specialist' gender services almost as soon as they express any confusion or distress about their biological sex or gender identity. Due to the rapidly rising numbers and various pressures on the system, patients are increasingly likely to be offered life-altering medication and/or surgical treatments, often with little exploration of their emotional world. As so little is yet known or understood regarding this increase in gender incongruent patients, it seems precipitous to proceed onto physical treatments before any assessment work is undertaken. Many who present as gender dysphoric have complex needs with comorbid problems such as autism, histories of abuse or trauma, social phobias, depression, eating disorders, and other mental health symptoms. Therefore, all aspects of the individual's life deserve thorough assessment and therapeutic work. This book is aimed primarily at clinicians working in the field to provide a model for understanding, assessing, and treating gender dysphoria. The model uses a psychoanalytic framework to help explain disturbed states of mind and how psychic defences can be enlisted unconsciously to avoid overwhelming psychic pain. This offers professionals a way of trying to think with, and offer understanding to, their trans-identifying clients. Clinical examples are given to illustrate these processes and promote the understanding of transgender children, adolescents, and young people and their internal worlds, their thinking, and their interpersonal relationships. As well as clinical exploration and understanding, the book includes an overview of the current political, social, and clinical environments which have all impacted on the clinical care of trans-identifying individuals. As well as professional and trainee clinicians, this book might also prove useful to parents, other professionals, and possibly the gender dysphoric person too.

For transgender youth, the process of exploring gender can be exciting, but also difficult and painful. This book discusses the challenges of living with gender dysphoria, offering young adult readers resources and strategies for coping in different contexts: at home, at school, out in public, and in seeking medical care. Each chapter defines relevant terms, shares relatable anecdotes, and features easy-to-read informational sidebars, addressing the experiences and needs of youth with a variety of gender identities and social locations. Beyond merely helping them deal with transphobia, this book offers transgender teens support and advice for navigating life and thriving.

This book is especially focused on the surgical aspect on Gender Dysphoria. Male to female surgery is widely discussed as well as the female to male conversion. Full information on hormone administration and surgical procedures are provided. Mental health issues are also described, as well as ethics, the law and psychosocial issues. The text is extensively referenced and includes numerous photos, tables and figures to clearly illustrate information. Based on collaboration between international experts in transgender health, this book is an essential guide for health care professionals, educators, students, patients and patients’ families concerning the psychological, hormonal, surgical and social support of transgender individuals.

There is a significant increase in people who self-diagnose as having gender dysphoria and gender incongruence. The number of people with gender dysphoria and gender incongruence who seek assessment, support and treatment at gender identity clinic services has increased substantially over the years globally, and in Europe, North America and Australia in particular. Many countries lack appropriate transgender healthcare services. People with gender dysphoria and/or gender incongruence are often victimized and discriminated against. This book gives an overview regarding mental health and quality of life issues across the life span within the evolving interdisciplinary field of transgender healthcare. The book is written for professionals who in their day-to-day job may encounter people with gender dysphoria and gender incongruence; and for students, teachers, educators, academics, and members of the public at large with an interest in this timely topic. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Review of Psychiatry.

This book provides a state of the art review on the care and treatment of and current scientific knowledge on gender dysphoria (GD) and disorders of sex development (DSD). The book elucidates the history, the present situation, and the newest developments and future perspectives in both research on GD and DSD and the clinical management of individuals with GD and DSD of all ages. With contributions from a selection of leading scientists and established clinicians in the field of GD and DSD, this is a unique and comprehensive book focusing on the etiology and developmental trajectories of GD and DSD regarding gender identity development, psychiatric comorbidity, classification dilemmas, ethical dilemmas in treatment, influences of societal stigmatization, and discussion of the medical and psychological implications and outcomes of treatment, and providing treatment guidelines for individuals with GD and DSD (distinct guidelines each for children, adolescents, and adults). By presenting not only an historic overview and the current state of the art, but also challenges for the future, the book aims to demonstrate the need for further research and to stimulate the development and improvement of the clinical care of individuals with GD and DSD.​

This unique and timely volume provides a comprehensive overview of the most recent clinical work and research on the topic. Following an overview of the disorder, the first section of the book deals with young children, providing a detailed analysis of gender identity disorder in both boys and girls. The second section, which focuses on adolescents, covers gender identity disorder, transvestic fetishism - also based on the largest sample of individuals ever studied - and homosexuality. Detailed clinical case material, which brings the issues to life, is included throughout.