--- title: "Psych News Alert: Transgender Individuals Say They Need Better Access to Mental Health Care" description: "Transgender individuals need improved \"access to mental health and social services that affirm transgender identity and promote reslien..." image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/LGBT%20transgender%20symbol_124490551-Jun-24-2025-10-38-47-0891-PM.jpg --- 5/7/13 12:00 AM # Transgender Individuals Say They Need Better Access to Mental Health Care ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/05/transgender-individuals-say-they-need.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/05/transgender-individuals-say-they-need.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/05/transgender-individuals-say-they-need.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/05/transgender-individuals-say-they-need.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/05/transgender-individuals-say-they-need.html) | [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/LGBT%20transgender%20symbol_124490551-Jun-24-2025-10-38-48-0836-PM.jpg?width=200&height=171&name=LGBT%20transgender%20symbol_124490551-Jun-24-2025-10-38-48-0836-PM.jpg)](https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/LGBT%20transgender%20symbol_124490551-Jun-24-2025-10-38-48-0836-PM.jpg) | | | --- | --- | Transgender individuals need improved "access to mental health and social services that affirm transgender identity and promote reslience," Walter Bockting, Ph.D., of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and colleagues assert in the May [*American Journal of Public Health.*](http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301241) Bockting was recently named codirector of Columbia University Medical Center's LGBT Health Initiative. They came to this conclusion after surveying online more than 1,000 male-to-female and female-to-male transgender individuals about their mental health. Survey respondents reported a high prevalence of depression (44 percent), anxiety (33 percent), and somatization (28 percent). The social stigma that the respondents experienced was associated with psychological distress. However,  they indicated that support from other transgender people decreased such distress. More information about the challenges facing transgender individuals and what can be done to help them can be found in *Psychiatric News* [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=1310491) and [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=1310492) . Information for psychiatrists and other clinicians who treat LGBT individuals can also be found in American Psychiatric Publishing's *[The LGBT Casebook.](http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=62421)* (Image: Yuriy Vlasenko/Shutterstock.com) [transgender mental health issues](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/transgender-mental-health-issues), [mental health services for transgender individuals](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/mental-health-services-for-transgender-individuals), [transgender](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/transgender) ## Related posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/IMG_0105-Jun-24-2025-04-14-26-1694-PM.jpg?height=200&name=IMG_0105-Jun-24-2025-04-14-26-1694-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/06/ama-house-backs-ending-ban-on.html) [transgender](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/transgender), [military service](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/military-service), [AMA House of Delegates](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ama-house-of-delegates) ## [AMA House Backs Ending Ban on Transgender Individuals Serving in Military](https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/06/ama-house-backs-ending-ban-on.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 6/8/15 12:00 AM There is no medically valid reason to exclude transgender individuals from service in the U.S.... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/06/ama-house-backs-ending-ban-on.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Happy%208-10%20year%20olds%20PS-4.jpg?height=200&name=Happy%208-10%20year%20olds%20PS-4.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/02/young-transgender-children-with-family.html) [psychiatry](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/psychiatry), [pediatrics](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/pediatrics), [depression](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/depression), [anxiety](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/anxiety), [transgender mental health issues](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/transgender-mental-health-issues), [M.D.](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/m-d-), [transgender](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/transgender), [child and adolescent psychiatry](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/child-and-adolescent-psychiatry) ## [Young Transgender Children With Family Support Show No Rise in Depression](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/02/young-transgender-children-with-family.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 2/26/16 12:00 AM Young children who identify as transgender and are supported by their families are no more likely... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/02/young-transgender-children-with-family.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/youth-therapist-iStock-1026754404-Jun-24-2025-09-38-22-4337-PM.jpg?height=200&name=youth-therapist-iStock-1026754404-Jun-24-2025-09-38-22-4337-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2023/06/few-mental-health-programs-specifically.html) [JAMA Pediatrics](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/jama-pediatrics), [access to care](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/access-to-care), [mental health](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/mental-health), [LGBTQ](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/lgbtq), [sexual minority](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/sexual-minority) ## [Few Mental Health Programs Specifically Geared Toward LGBTQ Youth, Report Finds](https://alert.psychnews.org/2023/06/few-mental-health-programs-specifically.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 6/6/23 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2023/06/few-mental-health-programs-specifically.html) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2025-06-24T22:42:12.343Z", "datePublished" : "2013-05-07T04:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Psych News Alert: Transgender Individuals Say They Need Better Access to Mental Health Care", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/LGBT%20transgender%20symbol_124490551-Jun-24-2025-10-38-47-0891-PM.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/05/transgender-individuals-say-they-need.html", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```