“The overall goal of the SOC [Standards of Care] is to provide clinical guidance for health professionals to assist transsexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming people with safe and effective pathways to achieving lasting personal comfort with their gendered selves, in order to maximize their overall health, psychological well-being, and self-fulfillment ... While this is primarily a document for health professionals, the SOC may also be used by individuals, their families, and social institutions to understand how they can assist with promoting optimal health for members of this diverse population” (p. 1). Sections of this publication are: purpose and use of the SOP; global applicability; the difference between gender nonconformity and gender dysphoria; assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with gender dysphoria; mental health; hormone therapy; reproductive health; voice and communication therapy; surgery; postoperative care and follow-up; lifelong prevention and primary care; applicability of SOP to people living in institutional environments; and applicability of SOP to people with disorders of sex development. Appendixes include: glossary; overview of medical risks of hormone therapy; summary of criteria for hormone therapy and surgeries; and evidence for clinical outcomes of therapeutic approaches.
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