Dan Karasic
Encyclopedia
Dan Halaban Karasic is an American
psychiatrist
specializing in transgender
, gender dysphoric, and HIV
-positive patients. He served on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission
from 1998 to 2002, and he served as President of the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists
from 2005 to 2007. In 2006 he was named Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
. Karasic currently teaches at University of California San Francisco.
in 1982, then earned his M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine. He did his internship and residency at University of California, Los Angeles
, followed by postdoctoral work in sociology at UCLA.
Karasic is co-editor with Jack Drescher
of Sexual and Gender Diagnoses of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM): A Reevaluation. The book presents arguments for or against revisions of various gender and sexual diagnoses, including gender identity disorder
, paraphilia
, dyspareunia
and vaginismus
. He has also studied and commented on LGBT-specific needs in psychiatric care.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
specializing in transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
, gender dysphoric, and HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
-positive patients. He served on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission
San Francisco Human Rights Commission
The San Francisco Human Rights Commission is a department of the City and County of San Francisco that works to increase equality, eradicate discrimination, and to protect human rights for all people...
from 1998 to 2002, and he served as President of the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists
Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists
The Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists is an organization that educates and advocates on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender mental health issues.-History:...
from 2005 to 2007. In 2006 he was named Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
. Karasic currently teaches at University of California San Francisco.
Career
Karasic graduated summa cum laude with a degree in biology from Occidental CollegeOccidental College
Occidental College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887, Occidental College, or "Oxy" as it is called by students and alumni, is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast...
in 1982, then earned his M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine. He did his internship and residency at University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, followed by postdoctoral work in sociology at UCLA.
Karasic is co-editor with Jack Drescher
Jack Drescher
Jack Drescher is an American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst best known for his work on sexual orientation.-Education and affiliations:...
of Sexual and Gender Diagnoses of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM): A Reevaluation. The book presents arguments for or against revisions of various gender and sexual diagnoses, including gender identity disorder
Gender identity disorder
Gender identity disorder is the formal diagnosis used by psychologists and physicians to describe persons who experience significant gender dysphoria . It describes the symptoms related to transsexualism, as well as less severe manifestations of gender dysphoria...
, paraphilia
Paraphilia
Paraphilia is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her...
, dyspareunia
Dyspareunia
Dyspareunia is painful sexual intercourse, due to medical or psychological causes. The symptom is reported almost exclusively by women, although the problem can also occur in men. The causes are often reversible, even when long-standing, but self-perpetuating pain is a factor after the original...
and vaginismus
Vaginismus
Vaginismus, sometimes anglicized vaginism, is the German name for a condition which affects a woman's ability to engage in any form of vaginal penetration, including sexual intercourse, insertion of tampons and/or menstrual cups, and the penetration involved in gynecological examinations...
. He has also studied and commented on LGBT-specific needs in psychiatric care.