Spiritual Psychotherapy for a Client With Gender Dysphoria



Mohammadi MR¹ ; Ahmadi A¹ ; Salmanian M¹ Show Affiliations
Source: European Journal of Science and Theology Published:2021

Abstract

Gender dysphoria refers to the noticeable incongruence between gender identity and biological sex along with clinically significant distress or impairment in important domains of functioning. We presented a case study to illustrate the effective use of spiritual psychotherapy in a female with gender dysphoria. For this case, a total of 30, ninety-minute sessions were held with a spiritual therapist up to 8 months. A psychiatrist assessed the symptoms of gender dysphoria and life functioning at pre-intervention, 4 months after starting the intervention, post-intervention, 1-year and 2-year follow-up using the psychiatric interviews based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5). She showed no symptoms of gender dysphoria at post-intervention and did not experience any relapse in the 1-year and 2-year follow-up. She could resolve her gender identity conflicts, improve life functioning and continue her life as a female. Overall, spiritual psychotherapy can offer a potential new therapeutic approach to treat the clients with gender dysphoria. It is suggested to conduct clinical trials to evaluate the effectiveness of this method. © 2021, Ecozone, OAIMDD. All rights reserved.