The Ten Tasks of the Mental Health Professional.
Mental health professionals (MHP) who work with individuals with gender identity disorders may be regularly called upon to carry out many of these responsibilities:

1. to accurately diagnose the individual's gender disorder;

2. to accurately diagnose any co-morbid psychiatric conditions and see to their appropriate treatment;

3. to counsel the individual about the range of treatment options and their implications;

4. to engage in psychotherapy

5. to ascertain eligibility and readiness for hormone and surgical therapy;

6. to make formal recommendations to medical and surgical colleagues;

7. to document their patient's relevant history in a letter of recommendation;

8. to be a colleague on a team of professionals with interest in the gender identity disorders;

9. to educate family members, employers, and institutions about gender identity disorders;

10. to be available for follow-up of previously seen gender patients.

The Training of Mental Health Professionals.

The Adult-Specialist.
The education of the mental health professional who specializes in adult gender identity disorders rests upon basic general clinical competence in diagnosis and treatment of mental or emotional disorders. The basic clinical training may occur within any formally credentialing discipline--for example, psychology, psychiatry, social work, counseling, or nursing. The following are the recommended minimal credentials for special competence with the gender identity disorders:

1. A master's degree or its equivalent in a clinical behavioral science field. This or a more advanced degree should be granted by an institution accredited by a recognized national or regional accrediting board. The mental health professional should have written credentials from a proper training facility and a licensing board.

2. Specialized training and competence in the assessment of the DSM-IV/ICD-10 Sexual Disorders (not simply gender identity disorders).

3. Documented supervised training and competence in psychotherapy.

4. Continuing education in the treatment of gender identity disorders which may include attendance at professional meetings, workshops, or seminars or participating in research related to gender identity issues.

The Child-Specialist.
The professional who evaluates and offers therapy for a child or early adolescent with GID should have been trained in childhood and adolescent developmental psychopathology. The professional should be competent in diagnosing and treating the ordinary problems of children and adolescents.

The Differences between Eligibility and Readiness.
The SOC provides eligibility requirements for hormones and surgery. Without first meeting eligibility requirements, the patient and the therapist should not request hormones or surgery. An example of an eligibility requirement is: a person must live full time in the preferred gender for twelve months prior to genital reconstructive surgery. To meet this criterion, the professional needs to document that the real life experience has occurred for this duration. Meeting readiness criteria--further consolidation of the evolving gender identity or improving mental health in the new or confirmed gender role--is more complicated because it rests upon the clinician's judgment. The clinician might think that the person is not yet ready because his behavior frequently contradicts his stated needs and goals.

The Mental Health Professional's Relationship to the Endocrinologist and Surgeon.
Mental health professionals who recommend hormonal and surgical therapy share the legal and ethical responsibility for that decision with the physician who undertakes the treatment. Hormonal treatment can often alleviate anxiety and depression in people without the use of additional psychotropic medications. Some individuals, however, need psychotropic medication prior to, or concurrent with, taking hormones or having surgery. The mental health professional is expected to make these decisions and see to it that the appropriate psychotropic medications are offered to the patient. The presence of psychiatric co-morbidities does not necessarily preclude hormonal or surgical treatment, but some diagnoses pose difficult treatment dilemmas and may delay or preclude the use of either treatment.

The Mental Health Professional's Documentation Letters for Hormones or Surgery Should Succinctly Specify:

1. The patient's general identifying characteristics
2. The initial and evolving gender, sexual, and other psychiatric diagnoses
3. The duration of their professional relationship including the type of psychotherapy or evaluation that the patient underwent
4. The eligibility criteria that have been met and the MHP's rationale for hormones or surgery
5. The patient's ability to follow the Standards of Care to date and the likelihood of future compliance
6. Whether the author of the report is part of a gender team or is working without benefit of an organized team approach
7. That the sender welcomes a phone call to verify the fact that the mental health professional actually wrote the letter as described in this document.

The organization and completeness of these letters provide the hormone-prescribing physician and the surgeon an important degree of assurance that mental health professional is knowledgeable about gender issues and is competent in conducting the roles of the mental health professional.

One Letter is Required for Instituting Hormone Therapy.
One letter from a mental health professional, including the above seven points, written to the medical professional who will be responsible for the patient´s endocrine treatment is sufficient.

Two-Letters are Generally Required for Surgery.
It is ideal if mental health professionals conduct their tasks and periodically report on these processes to a team of other mental health professionals and nonpsychiatric physicians. Letters of recommendation to physicians or surgeons written after discussion with a gender team then reflect the influence of the entire team. One letter to the physician performing surgery will generally suffice as long as it is signed by two mental health professionals.
More commonly, however, letters of recommendation are from mental health professionals who work alone without colleagues experienced with gender identity disorders. Because professionals working independently may not have the benefit of ongoing professional consultation on gender cases, two letters of recommendation are required prior to endorsing surgery. If the first letter is from a person with a master's degree, the second letter should be from a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist--those with doctoral degrees who can be expected to adequately evaluate co-morbid psychiatric conditions. If the first letter is from the patient's psychotherapist, the second letter should be from a person who has only played an evaluative role for the patient. Each letter writer, however, is expected to cover the same topics. At least one of the letters should be an extensive report. The second letter writer, having read the first letter, may choose to offer a briefer summary and an agreement with the recommendation.