Walter Bockting, PHD
Overview
Dr. Bockting is a Clinical Psychologist and Director of the Program for the Study of LGBT Health at the New York State Psychiatric Institute / Columbia Psychiatry and the Columbia University School of Nursing. His research interests include identity development across the lifespan, transgender health, and LGBTQ+ aging. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the New York Community Trust, and a number of other private foundations. He is currently the Principal Investigator of three large NIH-funded studies: Project AFFIRM, a longitudinal, multi-site study of transgender identity development across the lifespan; Convoy Q, examining the role of social networks in cognitive aging of LGBTQ+ adults and their cisgender, heterosexual counterparts; and a new investigation of the quality of life of trans and gender nonbinary individuals following gender-affirming surgery.
Dr. Bockting is an internationally known expert in gender-affirming healthcare as well as in the mental health and psychosocial adjustment of transgender, gender non-binary and gender-diverse children, adolescents, adults, and their families. He is the Editor of six volumes on gender and sexual health, and has published more than one-hundred articles in peer-reviewed journals. Dr Bockting is a past president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and a past president and Fellow of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. In 2010-11, Dr Bockting served on the Institute of Medicine Committee of the National Academies whose work culminated in the IOM Report on the Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding. Dr Bockting's work at CUIMC focuses on combining research, clinical practice, education and training, and innovative policy development to promote the health of LGBTQI+ individuals and their communities.
Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated
- Alzheimer's Disease
- Dementia
- Gay/Lesbian Counseling
- Gender Identity
- Identity Disorders
- LGBT Mental Health
- Psychosomatic Medicine
- Sexual Behavior Disorder
- Sexual Development
- Sexual Disorders
- Sexual Dysfunctions Counseling
- Sexual Orientation Issues
Academic Appointments
- Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry and Nursing)
Administrative Titles
- Co-Director, Division of Gender, Sexuality, and Health, NYSPI/Columbia Psychiatry
- Director, Columbia Gender Identity Program
- Director, Program for the Study of LGBT Health
Hospital Affiliations
- NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Gender
- Male
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Phone Appointments
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Location(s)
Insurance Accepted
Aetna
- Aetna Signature Administrators
- EPO
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- NYP Employee Plan
- NY Signature
- POS
- PPO
- Student Health
Coventry Health Care
- Coventry Health Care
Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield
- EPO
- HMO
- PPO
MagnaCare (National)
- MagnaCare
UnitedHealthcare
- Behavioral Health
- Behavioral Health (Columbia University Employee Plan)
- Medicaid Behavioral Health
Credentials & Experience
Education & Training
- Drs, 1988 Clinical Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- PhD, 1998 Medical Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Fellowship: University Of Minnesota Medical Center
Honors & Awards
- 2020: Distinguished Sexual and Gender Health Revolutionary, Program in Human Sexuality, University of Minnesota Medical School
- 2015: Faculty Research Fellow, Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center
- 2011: University Innovations, in appreciation of commitment to research and innovation at the University of Minnesota
- 2008: Best Documentary Short Film, FilmOut San Diego, for “Coming Out Trans” (Producer)
- 2006: Fellow, Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
- 1996: Helping Professional of the Year, City of Lakes Crossgender Community
- 1988: Post-Doctoral Clinical/Research Fellow, Program in Human Sexuality, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School
Research
Dr. Bockting’s research is in the area of gender, sexuality, and health. His research focuses on the development of gender identity and sexual orientation across the lifespan, and the impact of social stigma on the mental health, sexual health, and quality of life of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and, particularly, transgender and gender nonbinary individuals, their families, and communities. His approach to these topics has included a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, and the innovative use of information technology. Currently, Dr. Bockting’s focus is on strengthening transdisciplinary collaboration in cognitive aging, behavioral cardiovascular health, psychoendocrinology, and neuroscience to advance understanding of the interaction between psychosocial and biological factors in the development of identity and resilience.
Dr. Bockting is principal investigator (with Dr. Donald Edmondson) of a National Heart Lung and Blood Institute-funded longitudinal, multisite study of transgender identity development and health across the lifespan. He is also PI of a National Institute on Aging-funded study on the role of social engagement and support in cognitive aging and the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, comparing LGBTQ and cisgender, heterosexual adults in the New York City area.
Research Interests
- Gender-affirming Healthcare
- Gender Identity and Sexual Development
- HIV Prevention Research
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Health
- Sexual Health
Selected Publications
- Kidd, J. D., Jackman, K. B., Barucco, R., Dworkin, J. D., Dolezal, C., Navalta, T. V., Belloir, J., & Bockting, W. O. (2021). Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of transgender and gender nonbinary individuals engaged in a longitudinal cohort study. Journal of Homosexuality, 68(4), 592-611.
- Anacker, C., Sydnor, E., Chen, B. K., LaGamma, C. C., McGowan, J. C., Mastrodonato, A., Hunsberger, H. C., Byne, W., Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., Bockting, W., Ehrhardt, A. A., & Denny, C. A. (2020). Behavioral and neurobiological effects of GnRH agonist treatment in mice—potential implications for puberty suppression in transgender individuals. Neuropsychopharmacology, 46(5), 882-290.
- Valente, P. K., Schrimshaw, E. W., Dolezal, C., LeBlanc, A. J., Singh, A. A., & Bockting, W. O. (2020). Stigmatization, resilience, and mental health among a diverse community sample of transgender and gender nonbinary individuals in the US. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(7), 2649- 2660.
- Bockting, W. O., Miner, M. H., Swinburne Romine, R. E., Dolezal, C., Robinson, B. B. E., Rosser, B. S., & Coleman, E. (2020). The Transgender Identity Survey: A measure of internalized transphobia. LGBT Health, 7(1), 15-27.
- Bockting, W., MacCrate, C., Israel, H., Mantell, J. E., & Remien, R. H. (2020). Engagement and retention in HIV care for transgender women: Perspectives of medical and social service providers in New York City. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 34(1), 16-26.
- Johnson, K. C., LeBlanc, A. J., Sterzing, P. R., Deardorff, J., Antin, T., & Bockting, W. O. (2020). Trans adolescents’ perceptions and experiences of their parents’ supportive and rejecting behaviors. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 67(2), 156-170.
- Johnson, K. C., LeBlanc, A. J., Deardorff, J., & Bockting, W. O. (2020). Invalidation experiences among non-binary adolescents. The Journal of Sex Research, 57(2), 222-233.
- Bockting, W., Barucco, R., LeBlanc, A., Singh, A., Mellman, W., Dolezal, C., & Ehrhardt, A. (2020). Sociopolitical change and transgender people’s perceptions of vulnerability and resilience. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 17(1), 162-174.
- Caceres, B. A., Jackman, K. B., Edmondson, D., & Bockting, W. O. (2020). Assessing gender identity differences in cardiovascular disease in US adults: an analysis of data from the 2014–2017 BRFSS. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 43, 329–338.
- Jackman, K. B., Caceres, B. A., Kreuze, E. J., & Bockting, W. O. (2019). Suicidality among gender minority youth: analysis of 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data. Archives of Suicide Research, 25(2): 208–223
- Bjarnadottir, R. I., Bockting, W., Trifilio, M., & Dowding, D. W. (2019). Assessing sexual orientation and gender identity in home health care: Perceptions and attitudes of nurses. LGBT Health, 6(8), 409-416.
- Kidd, J. D., Levin, F. R., Dolezal, C., Hughes, T. L., & Bockting, W. O. (2019). Understanding predictors of improvement in risky drinking in a US multi-site, longitudinal cohort study of transgender individuals: Implications for culturally-tailored prevention and treatment efforts. Addictive Behaviors, 96, 68-75.
- Jackman, K. B., Dolezal, C., Levin, B., Honig, J. C., & Bockting, W. O. (2018). Stigma, gender dysphoria, and nonsuicidal self-injury in a community sample of transgender individuals. Psychiatry Research, 269, 602-609.
- Meyer, I. H., Brown, T. N., Herman, J. L., Reisner, S. L., & Bockting, W. O. (2017). Demographic characteristics and health status of transgender adults in select US regions: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2014. American Journal of Public Health, 107(4), 582-589.
- Bockting, W., Coleman, E., Deutsch, M. B., Guillamon, A., Meyer, I., Meyer III, W., ... & Ettner, R. (2016). Adult development and quality of life of transgender and gender nonconforming people. Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity, 23(2), 188-197.
For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov