Preferences for gender-affirming voice modification clinicians

Although understanding and accommodating client preferences is important for effective healthcare, few speech-language pathology studies have examined these preferences. This investigation explores gender diverse individuals’ preferences for gender-affirming voice modification (GAVM) clinicians. Via online survey, 132 gender diverse adults from across the United States rated their preferences for clinical factors (i.e., empathy/acceptance, knowledge of current transgender issues/language, training/experience with transgender people) compared to match features (i.e., gender match, LGBTQ+ match) when selecting a GAVM clinician.

Overall, participants reported stronger preferences for clinical features, with the strongest preference for empathy/acceptance. During follow-up interviews, all twelve participants revealed at least somewhat positive views of gender-matched clinicians, but they were ultimately unwilling to sacrifice treatment efficacy for this preference. Gender centrality was the only significant moderator of preferences, with higher gender centrality predicting stronger preference for match factors.

Findings suggest anyone can be an effective GAVM clinician, so long as they (a) display genuine empathy through compassion, flexibility, and humility; and (b) continually seek professional and personal experiences with gender diverse people to develop an effective evidence-based practice and a comprehensive understanding of the sociocultural experiences of gender diverse people. However, participants’ weak but notable preferences for gender match should galvanize diversity among speech pathologists.