Critical Reflection on Gender Identity Assessments with Trans and Gender Non-Binary Individuals: Challenges, Implications, and a Newly Proposed Approach in Forensic Psychology

Abstract

Trans and gender issues have seen a resurgence in the public and scientific community. The declassification of the Trans identity as a mental health issue aims to improve the lives of Trans individuals (WHO, 2018). However, studies show criminal justice system (CJS) services exhibit a significant lack of quality, aside from changes in categorisation (e.g., James et al., 2017). A systematic literature review (Henrich, 2020) highlighted the assessment of Trans individuals’ gender identities, often a central access requirement for support, lacks coherent guidelines, or empirical evidence, leaving professionals with no guidance. This may lead to detrimental effects for Trans individuals within the CJS. To offer a concise introduction key terminology and concepts are presented and framed within the wider historical and socio-political discourse, followed by a contemporary criticism of Trans care approaches including gender identity assessment. The challenges and uncertainties that psychologists face within CJS are made explicit. Trans-centric aspects not covered by current assessments are outlined, providing opportunities and a nuanced outlook into the future of gender identity assessments. Finally, practical clinical considerations are proposed, together with the application of a newly developed non-pathologising assessment approach (Johnstone & Boyle, 2018a) to the Trans and Gender Non-Conforming context.