World Professional Association for Transgender Health, The

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is an international, interdisciplinary nonprofit devoted to transgender health. It was founded in 1979 as the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, named for the physician who pioneered clinical work with transgender patients, and adopted its current name in 2006. WPATH brings together professionals across medicine, psychology, social work, law, and other fields to promote evidence-based care, research, education, and policy. It is best known for the Standards of Care (SOC), the widely referenced clinical guidelines for the health of transgender and gender-diverse people. The most recent edition, SOC Version 8, was published in 2022. Health providers, insurers, and advocates around the world treat the SOC as a foundational reference, though it has also drawn political and legal scrutiny.