DIGITAL WORKSHOP

Integrating Changes in
WPATH Standards of Care

SOC8 Assessments & Medical Referrals

6 CEs available

The sessions, activities, and resources provided will help you integrate the the SOC8 into your assessments, and medical referral letters while navigating a medical world steeped in SOC7, and you’ll get feedback from an expert in trans health whom you can trust, all while getting CE’s.

What you will get?

•  Detailed guidance on the integration of the SOC8 in your practice or organization involving the approach and the important areas to cover in assessments with a special focus on youth and families. 
•  Tools for writing context specific and appropriate medical referral letters, including valuable guidance on the types of letters required, the necessary content they should cover, who to involve, and time saving templates that work 
•  How to create and work with an interdisciplinary team even if you’re in private practice. 
•  We will not only cover the content you need but also the ethics and current issues involved in providing referrals 

Why is this important?

This Webinar will help mental health providers who work with transgender/gender diverse children, and those who assess them for social transition, navigate the latest changes in the WPATH Standards of Care, version 8 and know how to implement them in your practice and evaluations. It will also help any provider managing complex cases understand the content domains, what to explore, and what to include in a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment.  

The overall goal of the Standards of Care guidelines is to provide clinical guidance for health professionals to assist transgender and gender diverse people with safe and effective pathways to achieve lasting personal comfort with their gendered selves, and to maximize their overall health, psychological well-being, and self-fulfillment.  

Version 8 of the standards of care is a broad expansion of the guidelines, since quite a lot has changed in the world of gender affirming care in the past 11 years since SOC7 was unveiled. For mental health providers who work with transgender and gender diverse children, especially those who are evaluating them for social transition, it is important to understand the latest changes.

We’re going to talk about…

•  How to understand your role as a therapist under the current standards of care when evaluating of your clients’ understanding of medical procedures and adequately preparing them, without stepping outside the boundaries of your discipline. 
•  How to write letters following the SOC8 even if you fear that a client will change their minds in the future or regret their decision to have surgery or begin hormones later on. 
•  How to find and work with an interdisciplinary team even when you work in private practice in a rural area. 

•  Assessing for informed consent using the SOC8 guidelines even when you feel conflicted and less qualified to assess because developmental differences make you wonder about their capacity for consent.
•  How to include the specific SOC8 requirements for letters based on the age of your client and the different necessities that come with each life stage. 

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of this workshop, attendees will be able to…

•  Describe the main changes and additions of SOC8 vs. SOC7 for referrals and assessments Identify when treatment is outside one’s scope of practice and when to involve other experts on the team 
•  List the common types of medical treatments and referral requirements for each 
•  Describe the common co-occurring diagnoses to be aware of and how to address these when making a referral 
•  Evaluate the capacity to consent or assent to medical treatment
•  Identify the readiness of a client and provide information about appropriate courses of action

In addition to the primary learning objectives, you will also be able to confidently,

•  Describe the ethical dilemmas to avoid when engaging in gender health evaluations and writing referral letters
•  Select the appropriate type of referral given the complexity of a client’s gender presentation
•  Provide the appropriate and effective medical referral when necessary, integrating the SOC8

Why is this important?

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health recently published the new Standards of Care (SoC8) for the treatment of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people. Version 8 of the standards of care is a broad expansion of the guidelines, since quite a lot has changed in the world of gender affirming care in the past 11 years since SOC7 was unveiled. With the current political backlash and cultural context, it is imperative that mental health providers who work with transgender and gender diverse youth, especially those who are evaluating them for medical treatment understand the latest changes.

The overall goal of the Standards of Care guidelines is to provide clinical guidance for health professionals to assist transgender and gender diverse people with safe and effective pathways to achieve lasting personal comfort with their gendered selves, and to maximize their overall health, psychological well-being, and self-fulfillment.  

These new standards may significantly change how we practice and especially what is expected of us as mental health providers when evaluating TGD people for gender affirming medical care. If you work with gender diverse people or their families, especially given the current political backlash, it is important to understand these changes and how they may impact your work. The ability to utilize and back up your work with the latest standards will not only help your clients, but protect you from those who would challenge gender affirming care.

This Course will help you build competence with the SOC8 and understand how to handle situations that can come up when navigating assessments and medical referral letters.

6 CEs available

Course Curriculum

What our participants said

Shawn was so personable while demonstrating and sharing his in depth knowledge about WPATH SOCs and gender affirming care. The workshop was chock full of useful information, both in the presentation and the resources provided via links. I have been working with gender diverse clients for over a decade, so I came in knowing a lot, yet I found lots of helpful tidbits and examples that I and my clients will benefit from. Thanks!

Colin W.

The lining out of the assessment domains. Having that list is going to be so great for clarifying my thinking and process. Also learning what constitutes decision-making abilities -- the 4 of them.

Anne D.

The slides were clear, sharing the material was great, so we can go deep in to it. The timely response of the questions was great, as well as the cases presented.

Rosy DP.

Complimenting the changes in the standards of care with detailed examples of how they applied to actual clients. The client examples and your responses to questions help make the information clear and applicable.

Erin T.

Outlining differences between SOCs 7 and 8 and how this affects letter writing. Because I need to know!

Juliette G.

The SOC8 criteria, information on specific letter writing, the handouts, the careful explanations and answering of all questions.

Leslie N.

Shawn V Giammattei, PhD

For those who don’t know me, I am a licensed psychologist in Northern California, a member of the transgender community, and a WPATH certified mentor who is dedicated to helping therapists provide gender affirmative care to transgender, nonbinary, gender-expansive (trans) clients and their families across the life span, and build gender-affirming practices while navigating the quickly changing world of transgender health so that your clients and their families can build stronger connections, live with authenticity, and receive the care they need. 

I have no commercial disclosures or conflicts of interest to report.

The Gender Health Training Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.
Gender Health Training Institute maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Integrating Changes in WPATH Standards of Care

$249.00

CE's INCLUDED (6 CEs)


  • Video recordings
  • Letter samples
  • Course Slides
  • Quizzes (required to get CE's)
  • Evaluation (required to get CE's)
  • Certificate (6 CE's)
  • Gender Affirming Health Evaluation Checklist
  • How-To: A Tool for Joining with Families
  • Community Discussion