Psychological Evaluation

The psychological evaluation of your child is designed to provide a flexible, individualized approach to care, allowing for the unique circumstances of the youth and family, to provide optimal treatment. Our model relies on existing national and international guidelines and standards for working with transgender individuals developed by various disciplines.

The goals of evaluation are to further understand the child and family’s needs, and to recommend treatment options, which may include medical intervention. The evaluation consists of extensive interviews of the youth and family, and measures of mental health, social functioning, and gender identity. With consent, we will reach out to any collateral providers, and we will review relevant documents (e.g., neuropsychological evaluations), as appropriate. The rationale for numerous measures and methods of information gathering is to obtain the most authentic and comprehensive clinical picture possible.

In the clinical interview, we will gather family and developmental history, school/academic history, mental health and medical history, strengths, and support systems. We will also explore the youth’s gender history, including the youth’s own experience of gender across time, gender presentation/expression, and sexual orientation. A full clinical report is written that integrates the information, and provides a formulation and recommendations. The team psychologist then meets with the family to review this information and formulate a treatment plan for moving forward.