The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is staging its first scientific conference in Los Angeles, beginning this morning with an event for surgeons only and continuing with events open to a wider audience.
WPATH, formerly known as the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), is a non-profit organization devoted to transgender health. Its members engage in clinical and academic research to develop evidence-based medicine and promote a high quality of care for transsexual, transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals internationally.
WPATH’s scientific conference will take place at the Luskin Conference Center at 425 Westwood Plaza on the UCLA campus. The surgeons-only “pre-conference” begins at 7:30 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m. At 3:30 p.m., the conference opens with a keynote address by Dave Jones, the state insurance commissioner. From 4 p.m. to 4:55 p.m. there will be a forum featuring various physicians who have been involved with the organization’s US chapter, known as USPATH.
At 4:55 p.m. there will be a lecture by Elliott Kennedy, the senior advisor for LGBT health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And at 5:30 p.m. there will be a discussion of transgender representation in film, moderated by Nick Adams of GLAAD with panelists Rhys Ernst and Zachary Drucker, co-producers of “Transparent.” The conference continues through Sunday at noon with various presentations. From 7 to 11 p.m. on Saturday there will be a cocktail reception followed by a buffet dinner and entertainment. Registration for attendance now is closed.
WPATH works to further the understanding and treatment of gender dysphoria by professionals in medicine, psychology, law, social work, counseling, psychotherapy, family studies, sociology, anthropology, sexology, speech and voice therapy, and other related fields.
It publishes standards of care and ethical guidelines, which articulate a professional consensus about the psychiatric, psychological, medical and surgical management of gender dysphoria and help professionals understand the parameters within which they may offer assistance to those with these conditions.
