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HBIGDA Standards of Care (SOC)
SOC Version 6, 2001, Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association.
Standards for treatment of Gender Identity Disorder
- GID Diagnosis
- Letter from therapist for hormones
- 1 year Real Life Experience
- 2 Letters, one from Doctor, for Genital Surgery
Notes:
The standard treatment for GID is determined by the professional group for therapists working in the field, the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association. (HBIGDA, at www.hbigda.org.)
The standard is called the Standards of Care (SOC) and begins with a diagnosis of GID.
After some amount of work, the therapist writes a letter to a Medical Doctor, authorizing the doctor to prescribe hormones.
The standard requires the transsexual to live and work, full time, in the new gender role for at least one year – this is called the Real Life Experience.
After successful completion of the RLE, the transsexual is examined by a second professional to confirm the diagnosis.
Letters from both the therapist and other professional, one of whom must hold a doctor’s degree, are written to authorize genital surgery.