The Psychological Society of South Africa’s guidelines for psychology professionals working with sexually and gender-diverse people: towards inclusive and affirmative practice

Abstract

In this article, we outline the practice guidelines for psychology professionals working with sexually and gender-diverse people, ratified by the Psychological Society of South Africa’s Council in 2017. The guidelines are an augmentation of the Psychological Society of South Africa’s position statement of 2013 providing a framework for understanding the challenges that sexually and gender-diverse people face in patriarchal and hetero- and cis-normative societies. An affirmative stance towards sexual and gender diversity enables psychology practitioners to work ethically, effectively, and sensitively in this field. The guidelines – a first for Africa – are aspirational in nature and call on psychology professionals to become aware of their own biases, conscientise themselves of the best practices in the field by continued professional development, and to utilise the guidelines as a resource in their related work. Brief mention is made of the development process, before the rationale and possible applications of the 12 guidelines are explored.

Southern African HIV Clinicians Society gender-affirming healthcare guideline for South Africa

“…The committee worked from a gender-affirming, non-gatekeeping, depathologising perspective using a participatory approach that centres on the TGD client's agency and humanity, and upholds their dignity. 1,2,3 Strict values underpin this guideline, as shown in Table 1. In order to ensure applicability to the South African context, focused effort was made to review local research studies.…”

“…If the client is able to consent, their autonomy should be respected and facilitated, 6 and it is recommended that in the case of an MHP writing a referral letter to a surgeon, this be written in collaboration with the client. 2 We note that the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care 7 6 states that a client should have two independent psychological evaluations prior to surgery. However, it has been convincingly argued that this is not necessary for all clients.…”

“…9 It is important to recognise that some people are subject to intersecting layers of discrimination, such as of race, socio-economic status, geographical area, age, health disparities, transphobia and homophobia, sexism and gender discrimination, and the oppression of women. 2 It is the role of healthcare providers to challenge all forms of stigma, abuse, inequality and oppression directed at the TGD minority. 3 Inclusion TGD individuals should be included as equal partners in making decisions about their own bodies and healthcare, and also in broader decision-making regarding laws, policies and guidelines that have impact on their access to healthcare services.…”

Strengthening the National Health Insurance Bill for mental health needs: response from the Psychological Society of South Africa

“…Enabling people to live their authentic gender identity in society and to have access to affirmative health care, including the use of hormone replacement therapy and gender affirming surgery will improve mental health and lower suicide risk (Koch et al, 2019). PsySSA recently released affirmative practice guidelines for psychology professionals working in this field (McLachlan et al, 2019) and continues to advocate for a more gender-inclusive health care system.…”

Resilience and Resistance: The Narrative of a Transgender Youth in Rural South Africa

“…While hormone replacement therapy may be accessed at public healthcare facilities in at least four of the nine provinces, accessing gender affirming healthcare in South Africa remains a challenge [12]. Further, although the Psychological Society of South Africa has developed practice guidelines for professionals working in the field of sexual and gender diversity, there is a lack of training related to trans people's physical and mental health needs [11,13,14].…”