It is explicitly stated in ICD-10 that “sexual orientation by itself is not to be considered a disorder”. It has also been removed per se from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. WHo's ICD 11 has removed gender incongruence from it's manual.
Some psychologists and psychiatrists still hold negative personal attitudes toward homosexuality. However, empirical evidence and professional norms do not support the idea that homosexuality is a form of mental illness or is inherently linked to psychopathology.
International professional organizations, such as the World Association for Sexual Health and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, have also asserted that sexual rights, including rights pertaining to sexual orientation expression, are integral to human rights.
Sexual orientation refers to a persistent tendency to experience sexual attractions, fantasies and desires and to engage in sexual behaviours with partners of a preferred sex. When individuals categorize themselves on the basis of their own sexual attractions, desires and behaviours, they are described as adopting a sexual orientation identity: for example, gay, lesbian or heterosexual. The causes of sexual orientation are unknown but are likely to reflect some mixture of genetics, prenatal hormonal exposure, life experience and social contextual factors.
It has been found that the onset of sexual behaviour, attraction and desire typically occurs in adolescence.
Some practitioners may see sexual relationship disorder or sexual maturation disorder as an alternative diagnosis to a gender identity disorder.
Therapies aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation have been deemed outside the scope of ethical practice.
Answered2019-01-24 07:30:30
6/6 people found this helpful