What Psychiatry's History With Homosexual Patients Says About Transgender Care Today
June 29, 2026
In this Physicians Weekly op-ed Roberto D’Angelo reflects on a shameful chapter in the history of mental healthcare: the decades during which medical professionals regarded homosexuality as a mental disorder and subjected homosexual patients to ineffective and harmful interventions, including electroshock therapy and chemical castration. He explores the profession’s current approach to working with young patients with gender dysphoria, questioning whether elements of this history are resurfacing.
In this Physicians Weekly op-ed Roberto D’Angelo reflects on a shameful chapter in the history of mental healthcare: the decades during which medical professionals regarded homosexuality as a mental disorder and subjected homosexual patients to ineffective and harmful interventions, including electroshock therapy and chemical castration. He explores the profession’s current approach to working with young patients with gender dysphoria, questioning whether elements of this history are resurfacing.