This specialist service is staffed by a multi-disciplinary group with contributions from child and adolescent psychiatry, psychology, social work, psychotherapy and paediatrics. The staff work closely together in order to make the most of different team members' expertise and skills.
We see children and adolescents (up to the age of 18) and their families, who are experiencing difficulties in the development of gender identity. This may include children who are unhappy about their own biological sex and wish to belong to the other one.
Some may be boys who prefer to play the role of girls and vice versa; others may have a compulsion to play with toys commonly associated with toys of the other sex, for instance, a boy who predominantly plays with dolls.
Some children may feel comfortable only when playing with peers of the other sex, or may crossdress from time to time. Some adolescents and their families may experience a crisis over a problem of sexual identity leading to considerable concern and distress.
Children with intersex and other endocrine conditions can be referred if their are concerns about their gender identity development.
The Service also offers counselling to children of parents with transsexualism or other gender identity problems.
Sometimes, although people may be experiencing difficulties in this area, they may not feel ready to accept help from the Service directly or their attendance is impracticable. In these cases, we would be available to consult with any professionals already involved, such as the General Practitioner, Health Visitor, Teachers, Social Workers, etc.
We consider difficulties of gender identity in the context of developmental processes. The aims of the Service are to understand the nature of the obstacles or adverse factors in the development of gender identity and to try to minimise their negative influence. We think that relationships are as important as other factors in contributing to the child's difficulties. Therefore, we pay attention in our work to what is happening within the child's/adololescent's relationships with the family, school and other social agencies.
Great care is taken in assuring the confidentiality of the client's contact with the Service. We think that it is important, but only with the family's consent, to liase with other professionals in some cases.
The Service accepts referrals from other professionals in Health, Social Services and Education Departments, who are encouraged to discuss the referral with the family and seek their agreement. The Service also accepts self referrals of families or adolescents beyond the age of 16. There is no catchment area.
Written referrals should be addressed to:
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The Gender Identity Development Service is associated with the Department of Paediatric Endocrinology at St. George's Hospital, London.
N.B. This is a National Health Service and is not available to people outside the UK
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