Plenary Opening Session
The Plenary Opening session will be on Wednesday April 26 at 9AM (or 9:00). The confirmed speaker is:
Prof. dr. Jon Arcelus
COMPARING SOC-8 TO OTHER CLINICAL GUIDELINES: An in-depth exploration of the SOC-8 methodology
WPATH published the new edition of the Standards of Care (SOC-8) in September 2022. The development of the new edition was a complex and lengthy process that took nearly 5 years to completion. SOC-8 has been developed using a very different methodology to SOC-7 and combines systematic reviews and a Delphi process. As per any scientific paper, in order to evaluate the results of any study, the methodology needs to be assessed. With this in mind, this presentation will discuss the methodology of the new edition of the SOC. Prof. Jon Arcelus, Co-Chair of the SOC-8, will provide an in-depth critical review of the methodology used for the SOC-8 development. He will compare the SOC-8 to other clinical guidelines. Having an understanding as to how the recommendations of the SOC-8 have been developed will allow the listener to critically appraise the recommendations from the SOC-8.
Bio
Prof. Dr. Jon Arcelus, MD, PhD (He/Him) is an Emeritus Professor in Mental Health and Wellbeing at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. Clinically, he works at the National Centre for Transgender Health in Nottingham, particularly working with young trans and gender diverse people. Jon studied medicine at the Basque Country Medical school in Spain and he moved to the United Kingdom to train as a child and adolescent psychiatrist with an emphasises on social psychiatry. As a social psychiatrist, he is particularly interested in the role of society regarding the wellbeing of the individual. He trained in psychotherapy, including Sexual and Relationship Therapy, Systemic Therapy and Interpersonal Psychotherapy.
During his training he worked at the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) in London and he maintained his interested in transgender health during his whole career. He has over 15 years experience of working clinically with young people with eating and body image problems and he became an advisor to several sport organisations, including The Royal Ballet in London. He moved to the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health in 2014 and he became a Full Professor at the University of Nottingham in 2016, where he established the first clinical academic centre for transgender health in the UK.
Academically, he leads various research projects in the field of transgender health, and he has over 130 publications, including books and chapters. He is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Transgender Health. Jon has worked closely with members of the Trans community, through Trans Learning Partnership, a partnership of the main Trans related charities in the UK. He also works with different National and International sport organisations as part of the medical team. Since his retirement from the University of Nottingham, he works at Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), part of the University of Barcelona, Spain, where he holds an honorary contract. Jon is the co-chair of the Standards of Care – Version 8.