Dr. Annelou de Vries (the Netherlands)

An introduction and current challenges in transgender care for adolescents

There are concerns about whether the care for transgender youth is sufficiently evidence-based, about explanations for the increase in demand for care, and about whether the currently offered care model is also effective for newer or different presentations of gender diversity compared to previous years. Adolescent transgender care is a relatively new field that is rapidly developing. It includes early medical intervention and is at present the internationally dominant care model. Currently, serious threats to providing early affirming medical care exist in the USA, Europe and Australia. In Europe especially, the evidence base of the model is debated leading to adaptations in national guidelines, while in the US legal regulations have led to closure of clinics and banning the provision of transgender care for minors. In this presentation, I will discuss the history and rationale behind the introduction of puberty blockers and the provision of medical gender-affirming treatment for minors, current clinical practice and existing controversies, as well as future obstacles and opportunities. 

Bio
Annelou de Vries is a child and adolescent psychiatrist working at the Amsterdam UMC/ Levvel Amsterdam Academic Center of Child and Adolescent psychiatry since more than over two decades. Her main and special interest is dedicated to transgender adolescents, where she was part of the pioneer team that started with providing early medical intervention in selected cases. Apart from her clinical work with these adolescents, Annelou de Vries is involved in research and is now Associate Professor and Principle Investigator. She leads a line of research and supervises several PhD students on mental health, decision making and treatment evaluation. She published several high impact papers, authored many book chapters and is a frequently invited key note speaker as well as presents her work in the national and international media. Annelou de Vries is leading the Child Psychiatry Department of the Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria of the Amsterdam UMC. She is the 2023-2025 president of the European Professional Association of Transgender Health (EPATH), of which she is founding board member since 2014. She co-chaired the Adolescent Assessment Chapter of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) 8th revision of their Standards of Care (Coleman et al., 2022). Annelou de Vries is further full staff member of the department of child and adolescent psychiatry and as such participating in teaching and training of medical students and child & adolescent psychiatry residents. Her clinical work is further dedicated to adolescents admitted for an intensive OCD, Anxiety and Somatoform symptoms program.