Authors: Text from APA, edited by M. Albarzawi, Lu Kenntner, Uta Krüger and Dr. phil. Gisela Wolf
Being LGBTQI* is just as healthy as not being it!
Sexual Orientation
Lesbian, gay, bisexual or heterosexual orientations are not psychological disorders. Research has not found any causal relationship between any of these sexual orientations and mental illness. Although some people still hold the prejudice that lesbian, gay or bisexual persons are mentally “ill”, decades of research and clinical experience have led important medical organizations (e.g. the World Health Organization) and mental health organizations to conclude that all the aforementioned sexual orientations are to be considered as healthy human experiences. Lesbian, gay and bisexual relationships are therefore all bonding experiences that correspond to heterosexual relationships in terms of their emotional quality and duration, and can work just as well or badly as they do.
Gender Identity
In the latest revision of the International Classification of Diseases and related Health Problems (ICD-11), “transsexuality” was removed from the chapter on “Mental and Behavioral Disorders”, and was instead listed under “Gender Incongruence” in a separate chapter dealing with sexual health. This should serve to ensure low-threshold and professional health care for trans persons, while at the same serving to stop people from viewing transsexuality as a mental illness.
For trans persons who are non-binary and wish to forego officially stating their gender identity under civil status law, or those who wish to change their gender status to “non-binary”, or in some jurisdictions “x”, the requirement to have a medical certificate for a “variant of gender development” shows that a stigma of illness around this issue still remains.
Sources:
- APA = American Psychological Association. (2008). Answers to your questions: For a better understanding of sexual orientation and homosexuality. Washington, DC: Author. Available at https://www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/orientation
- Bundesverband Trans*: Website on healthcare provision for trans persons: https://www.bundesverband-trans.de/unsere-arbeit/transgesundheitsversorgung/
- Günther, M., Teren, K., & Wolf, G. (2019). „Psychotherapeutische Arbeit mit trans*Personen. Handbuch für die Gesundheitsversorgung“ (Psychotherapeutic Work with Trans Persons. Handbook for Healthcare Provision). München: Reinhardt.
- Rauchfleisch, U. (2018). „Medizinische Einordnung von Trans*identität.“ (Medical Classification of Trans Identiy). Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (German Federal Agency for Civic Education).
Available at https://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/gender/geschlechtliche-vielfalt-trans/245353/medizinische-einordnung-von-transidentitaet
Last updated: 03/30/2021 - 14:45