Do You Know What ICD Is?

Most people know what the DSM is but have never heard of the ICD; it is what the DSM is to mental health but for medical diseases. Right now the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is at revision 10 and the next revision is in the works and the trans-community should be aware of the proposed changes.

Yesterday some news came out about the changes…

San Francisco Consensus Augurs Well for ICD Revision
Just Plain Sense
By Christine Burns
February 18, 2013

An important meeting of minds took place in San Francisco earlier this month, with encouraging signs for revising trans related classifications in the forthcoming 11th Edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

I [Christine Burns] was there to participate and influence the discussions as an international adviser to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).
[…]
The essential points for discussion were:

1. Whether the F64.0 'Transsexualism' category should be renamed and moved to another (non-mental health) section in the ICD-11 and, if so, where (if anywhere at all).
[…]
2. Whether the F64.2 'Gender Identity of Childhood' category should be retained and, if so, whether it should be renamed and moved to a another (non-mental health) section in the ICD-11
[…]
3. Whether to take a position on deleting F65.1 'Fetishistic Transvestism' or to retain it in a more specific form.

On her blog each of the 3 points of discussion has a detailed report on what the meeting discussed about them and I think that WPATH will have more influence with the ICD than with the DSM. The APA is more of a closed group than the World Health Organisation which publishes the ICD. Changes in the ICD might put pressure on the APA to make additional changes to the DSM.

So far there has been no official word from WPATH on the meeting.