Founding members included Dr. Harry Benjamin, Paul A. Walker, Richard Green, Jack C. Berger, Donald R. Laub, Charles L. Reynolds Jr., Leo Wollman and Jude Patton.

[21][22] Beginning in approximately 2010, with pushing from trans activists[23] the WPATH began publicly advocating the depsychopathologization of transgender identities in the 7th version of the SOC.

[26] During this period, the majority of literature on gender diversity was pathologizing, positing dysfunctional families as the causes of dysphoria and recommending reparative therapy and psychoanalysis, such as Robert Stoller's work.

[26] In 1969, Reed Erickson, a wealthy transgender man who played a large role in funding research and clinics for trans healthcare through the Erickson Educational Foundation, funded Richard Green and Money's book Transsexualism and Sex Reassignment, a multidisciplinary volume exploring instructions on medical care as well as social and clinical aspects, which was dedicated to Benjamin.

[28] The initial Standards of Care, The hormonal and surgical sex reassignment of gender dysphoric persons, were published in 1979 and served both as clinical guidelines for treating patients and to protect those who provided the treatments.

[27] This led to feedback loops in research where the diagnostic criteria were thought correct since transgender people provided the narratives expected of them to access care.

[27] In the 1990s, WPATH was struggling to operate due to criticisms of their SOC in the trans community such as the requirement of the real life test,[30] where patients had to socially transition for up to a year prior to hormones.

[26] SOC 6 also did not include significant changes to the tasks mental health professionals were required to take or in the general recommendations for content of the letters of readiness.

[32] An important change in the eligibility criteria for GAH allowed providers to prescribe hormones even if patients had not undergone RLT or psychotherapy if it was for harm reduction purposes.

[32] A notable change in version six separated the eligibility and readiness criteria for top and bottom surgery allowing some patients,[33][full citation needed] particularly individuals assigned female at birth, to receive a mastectomy.

[26][36] Shortly afterwards it released the "Identity Recognition Statement",[37] urging governmental and medical bodies to endorse gender self-identification and no longer require surgery or sterilization as a prerequisite.

[20][32] Changes in this edition included a shift away from requiring multiple letters from mental health professionals for surgery,[42][43] introduces the term gender incongruence,[44] and the treatment of adolescents.

This article incorporates text from this source, which is by Travis Amengual, Kaitlyn Kunstman, R. Brett Lloyd, Aron Janssen, Annie B. Wescott available under the CC BY 4.0 license.