Content note: This episode discusses transphobic objections to gender-affirming health care (GAHC) in our explanation of the guidelines for GAHC. If you’re unable to engage with these topics right now, you are welcome to skip this episode or come back to it when you feel better resourced.

What if the evidence does exist — and it’s just being willfully ignored?

In this episode, clinical psychologist and PsySSA SGD executive member Thembisile Dlamini joins us to unpack the Practice Guidelines for Psychology Professionals Working with Sexually and Gender-Diverse People (2nd edition). These groundbreaking guidelines, published by the Psychological Society of South Africa and the African LGBTQIA+ Human Rights Project, are the only comprehensive, evidence-based mental health guidelines of their kind on the African continent. Together, we explore the real research behind gender-affirming care, the values that underpin the guidelines, and the very deliberate misinformation being spread by anti-trans movements.

We also discuss the role of psychology professionals in countering stigma, upholding self-determination, supporting diverse family structures, and advocating for social justice. If you’re a mental health practitioner, an LGBTQIA+ ally, or someone navigating your own identity, this conversation is for you. Thembisile brings warmth, insight, and clarity to a subject that is too often clouded by fearmongering and bad-faith debate. Spoiler: the evidence is real, the guidelines are robust, and gender-affirming care is mental health care.

📸 @mindmatters.with.thembi 🌐 https://www.psyssa.com/about-us/psyssa-structures-2/divisions/sexuality-and-gender-division-sgd/

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📄 Download a transcript of this episode.

00:00:00 Land acknowledgement 00:00:28 Title credits 00:00:58 Health disclaimer 00:01:59 Announcement 00:03:00 Welcome and introduction 00:06:19 Introducing PsySSA's practice guidelines for psychology professionals working with sexually and gender diverse people, 2nd edition 00:15:41 Affirmation is the first step (Guidelines 1-3) 00:26:22 It goes all the way to the top! (Guidelines 4-6) 00:35:49 Love, families, and finding your people (Guidelines 7-9) 00:46:14 The work starts with us (Guidelines 10-12) 00:59:31 End credits

Psychological Society of South Africa. (2025). Practice Guidelines For Psychology Professionals Working With Sexually And Gender-Diverse People. Johannesburg: Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA).

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