Overview Of Therapeutic Behavioral Therapy

Depending on the diagnosis and developmental stage of an individual with GD, time of treatment, approaches, methods, and goals are specified to the desired outcome for each individual. Treatment approaches historically and currently for GD are based off standard approaches from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health; however as of 2008 there was still no evidence-based treatment model for clinicians to use with children with GD (Heylens, Verroken, De Cock, T’Sjoean, De Cuypere, 2014; Zucker, 2008). Therapeutic and treatment options currently incorporate any combination of psychotherapy, psychoeducation, behavior modification, parent-centered and peer-centered therapy, puberty suspension, cross-sex hormone therapy, and gender …show more content…
A case formulation takes several factors into consideration beginning with the biological perspective of the individual; if a child, the biological understanding the parents have of their child is also incorporated into a parent-centered therapeutic approach (Zucker, 2008). Other considerations Zucker believes are important to integrate in treatment planning are the age of the assessment, age of first onset of GD, and age of treatment, psychopathology history and patterns in the child as well as parent(s), adolescent as well as parent(s), and adult as well parent(s), and relational patterns and history the GD individual has with their parent(s) (Zucker, 2008). Once the assessment and gathering of information is obtained, implementing treatment with the GD individual occurs in the natural environment, and if a child, treatment with the parent and family system also begins. Due to the lack of a uniformed evidence-based model, treatment approaches and goals vary, but the ultimate goal of all models is to create a stable environment for the child, adolescent, and adult with GD and to be well adjusted and accepting of