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The role of the mental health professional, and of the psychiatrist in particular, is evolving and changing. As the recognition of transsexualism and gender identity disorder expands across the transgender spectrum, it has been recommended that gender dysphoria should replace existing diagnostic terminology. Patient-focused care is evolving and this article considers the limitations of current healthcare settings and how the mental health professional can support patients undergoing the real-life experience. Differentiation from other mental health conditions that may present as gender dysphoria is outlined, as well as specific clinical situations.

Mental health professionals may come into contact with transgender patients under various circumstances. These may range from patients presenting to a psychiatrist for the first time seeking help with cross-gender identification matters, to those with an established diagnosis of gender dysphoria presenting with unrelated mental health problems. Encounters between transgender people and mental health workers occur in a variety of settings, from specialist out-patient clinics to general medical wards, substance-misuse programmes, psychiatric in-patient departments and prisons. Both parties may have anxieties concerning aspects of such encounters, particularly if such experiences are rare.