Abstract
We present a case of a 32-year-old natal male seeking medical follow-up care, due to gender dysphoria (GD) along with other complaints (depressive symptoms, anxiety, and suicidal ideation). The attending team chose interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), with a focus on role transition in order to help her. The patient presented a favorable trajectory throughout treatment and demonstrated personal growth one year after treatment. To our knowledge, little was found in the literature on the use of IPT in the treatment of those with GD; we also did not find any other publication or case report using IPT exclusively to treat the problems accompanying role transition. Psychotherapy was not intended to change the gender identity of this individual. However, further studies will be required to explore possible benefits of IPT for GD treatment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.744053.
Bockting, W., & Coleman, E. (2007). Developmental stages of the transgender coming-out process: Toward an integrated identity. In R. Ettner, S. Montgomery, & E. Coleman (Eds.), Principles of transgender medicine and surgery (pp. 137–159). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203822579.
Budge, S. L. (2013). Interpersonal psychotherapy with transgender clients. Psychotherapy,50(3), 356–359. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032194.
Budge, S. L., Adelson, J. L., & Howard, K. A. S. (2013a). Anxiety and depression in transgender individuals: The roles of transition status, loss, social support, and coping. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,81(3), 545–557. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031774.
Budge, S. L., Katz-Wise, S. L., Tebbe, E. N., Howard, K. A. S., Schneider, C. L., & Rodriguez, A. (2013b). Transgender emotional and coping processes: Facilitative and avoidant coping throughout gender transitioning. The Counseling Psychologist,41(4), 601–647. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000011432753.
Gagnier, J. J., Kienle, G., Altman, D. G., Moher, D., Sox, H., Riley, D., & the CARE Group. (2014). The CARE guidelines: Consensus-based clinical case report guideline development. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology,67(1), 46–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2013.08.003.
Grant, J. M., Mottet, L. A., Tanis, J., Harrison, J., Herman, J. L., & Keisling, M. (2011). Injustice at every turn. A report of the national transgender discrimination survey. Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7878(90)80026-2.
Murphy, R., Straebler, S., Basden, S., Cooper, Z., & Fairburn, C. G. (2012). Interpersonal psychotherapy for eating disorders. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy,19(2), 150–158. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.1780.
Olfson, M., & Marcus, S. C. (2010). National trends in outpatient psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychiatry,167(12), 1456–1463. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2010.10040570.
Rachlin, K. (2002). Transgender individuals’ experiences of psychotherapy. International Journal of Transgenderism, 6(1). Retrieved March 3, 2018, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288078302_Transgender_individuals’_experiences_of_psychotherapy/link/56f0027d08ae3c6534366272/download.
Rafaeli, A. K., & Markowitz, J. C. (2011). Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for PTSD: A case study. American Journal of Psychotherapy,65(3), 205–223. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2011.65.3.205.
Stuart, S., & Robertson, M. (2012). Interpersonal psychotherapy: A clinician’s guide. London: Hodder Arnold. https://doi.org/10.1201/b13443.
Wilfley, D. E., MacKenzie, R. K., Welch, R. R., Ayres, V. E., & Weismann, M. M. (2000). Interpersonal psychotherapy for groups. New York: Basic Books.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that this case report was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
This study has already been forwarded and approved by the Group of Research and Graduate Studies of the Hospital of Clinics of Porto Alegre (GPPG-HCPA), whose Ethics Committee is recognized by CONEP (National Research Ethics Committee) and is registered under the same number, 15-0097.
Informed Consent
A written informed consent was obtained from the patient prior to publication. She consents to the use of her information for the purposes of this case report.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barbisan, G.K., Moura, D.H., Lobato, M.I.R. et al. Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Gender Dysphoria in a Transgender Woman. Arch Sex Behav 49, 787–791 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01601-0
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01601-0