Well, here we are, a few weeks after the Dr. Zucker/Dr. Blanchard/DSM-V issue flared up. Apparently, my diary Gender-Variant Children And Transsexuals Will Likely Still Be Disordered In DSM-V had something to do with the flaring.

Below the fold are excerpts and links to four documents that Dr. Drescher — who also is on the same DSM-V workgroup with Dr. Zucker and Dr. Blanchard — was kind enough to forward me. I added comment or two between some of the document excerpts to explain the importance of the documents, or just provide some additional information.

[Below the fold: Why LGB people should care a lot about DSM-V and the Gender Identity Disorder In Children (GID In Children) diagnosis; and the four documents you should read to understand the DSM-V/GID issue.]

[To view any of the documents, select the thumbnail of the document, and a separate screen will open up with an Adobe PDF of the document.]

(1.) Gay City News Article: Flap Flares Over Gender Diagnosis

Transgender and gay activists are objecting to some members of an American Psychiatric Association (APA) committee that will weigh changes to the definition of gender identity disorder (GID), a diagnosis that activists say is used to treat young trans and gay people with the goal of curing them.

But the members are not easily pigeonholed as anti-gay or anti-transgender and the diagnosis itself has been used to gain medical care and legal protections for some transgendered people.

“Kenneth J. Zucker, Ph.D., is a name that every gay man and lesbian woman should know, especially if they were treated to become ’straight’ at a camp or an ex-gay affirming psychologist’s office,” Autumn Sandeen wrote in a May 7 post on pamshouseblend.com, a website popular with gay, lesbian, and transgendered progressives…

I explained why I believe every gay, lesbian, and bisexual person should know who Dr. Zucker is in the Blend diary Transyouth: Going From Treating “Very Serious Suicide Attempts” To “Cooperating With Psychosis”:

LGB people should also pay attention when organizations like NARTH cite Zucker’s work (and to a lesser extent cite McHugh’s work) when its contributors write about conversion therapy for LGB adults. NARTH frequently ties GID in Children with their diagnosis of Same Sex Attraction Disorder (SSAD) in adolescents and adults.

(2.) Statement on Dr. Kenneth Zucker and Gender Identity Disorder

Kenneth J. Zucker, Ph.D., C.Psych., the Chair of the DSM-V Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders work group, is a widely respected and pre-eminent scholar in the world of academic sexology research. As Chair of the work group for Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders, Dr. Zucker’s role is to coordinate and facilitate the work of the three sub-work groups addressing Sexual Dysfunctions, Paraphilias, and Gender Identity Disorders. Further information on the DSM-V development process can be found at: http://www.psych.org…

Dr. Zucker has published 97 peer-reviewed journal articles, 48 book chapters, and a landmark textbook. His published work addresses psychosexual differentiation and its disorders, based on a wide range of empirical research studies on children and adolescents with gender identity disorder, with a focus on diagnosis and assessment, and their associated behavioral and psychological distress. As the current Editor of Archives of Sexual Behavior, the premier human sexuality research journal, he also has a wide familiarity with the disparate areas of sexual dysfunctions and paraphilias. Since 2001, he has been the Psychologist-in-Chief at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), is a Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Toronto, and is on the Scientific Staff (Division of Child Psychiatry) at the Hospital for Sick Children. He was the President of the International Academy of Sex Research in 2005-2006.

Dr. Zucker and his service team at CAMH in Toronto have the longest standing research-clinical service for children and youth with gender identity problems in North America. Since the mid-1970s, Dr. Zucker and his team have evaluated over 900 children and youth with gender identity issues. Dr. Zucker is one of the few researchers who is doing long-term follow-up of the patients he has treated…

Other takes on Dr. Zucker’s qualifications are at TS Roadmap, and a post of mine at the Ex-Gay Watch indicating Dr. Zucker’s bias towards treating children to to help parents prevent their children from growing up to be adult gays and lesbians.

(3.) APA Statement On GID And The DSM-V:

The American Psychiatric Association has received inquiries about the DSM-V process, particularly concerns about the Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Work Group. The APA recognizes that this work group and others will address difficult and sometimes controversial issues. The APA’s goal is to develop a diagnostic manual that is based on sound scientific data, but also sensitive to the needs of clinicians and their patients. To this end, the APA has created a process that involves opportunities for review and input from persons with varied backgrounds and opinions.

Thirteen DSM-V work groups have been established to review all existing diagnostic categories in the current DSM. Individual work groups may propose revisions to existing disorder criteria, inclusion of new disorders, removal of existing disorders, or no changes to a disorder or its criteria. They may also propose revisions to the text that accompanies the criteria for each disorder. The Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Work Group, chaired by Kenneth J. Zucker, Ph.D., has three subworkgroups:

- Gender Identity Disorders, chaired by Peggy T. Cohen-Kettenis, Ph.D.
- Paraphilias, chaired by Ray Blanchard, Ph.D.
- Sexual Dysfunctions, chaired by R. Taylor Segraves, M.D., Ph.D.

Each subworkgroup meets regularly, in person or on conference calls. They begin by reviewing DSM-IV’s strengths and problems, from which research questions and hypotheses are developed and then investigated through literature reviews and analyses of existing data…

(4.) Joint Statement By Transgender Groups

This is a joint statement by National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), Transgender Law and Policy Institute (TLPI), Transgender Law Center (TLC), and Transgender Youth Family Allies (TYFA).

On May 1, 2008, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) announced the composition of work groups to review scientific advances and research-based information to develop the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). The composition and scope of the work group on Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders and two subgroups are of great interest to transgender people and therefore to our organizations.

Though no consensus exists among transgender people about whether and how a GID diagnosis should be in the DSM-V, there is certainly agreement that decisions made by the APA about transgender and gender non-conforming people will deeply affect the lives of millions of transgender adults, adolescents and children.

We have met with and strongly encouraged the APA to closely adhere to its stated commitment to scientific process regarding diagnosis of transgender people. We are confident that a fair, unbiased review of current knowledge can result in a DSM-V that can move society toward a more rational and humane understanding of transgender people.

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Further reading from the Bay Area Reporter:
* DSM controversy could overshadow opportunities

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Further reading from the Ex-Gay Watch:
* Zucker And Bradley
* No Standards Of Care For SSAD

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Related:
* Gender-Variant Children And Transsexuals Will Likely Still Be Disordered In DSM-V
* Pam’s House Blend on the National Association For Research & Therapy Of Homosexuality (NARTH)
* Pam’s House Blend on Dr. Paul McHugh
* Pam’s House Blend on Dr. Kenneth Zucker