Gender Dysphoria in Children: Let's Think This Through

The fourth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) is currently being revised by the American Psychiatric Association. The explicit purpose of the DSM is to accurately assign diagnoses to facilitate the application of evidence-based practice in meeting the needs of the individual receiving care. Here, Hein and Berger critically examine whether the diagnosis of gender dysphoria (GD) in children fulfills the purpose of the DSM, whether the diagnosis should be endorsed by psychiatric-mental health nursing, and consider whether the psych-mental health advanced practice mental health nurse should diagnose children with GD.