Any other BACP members on here?

@gardenbird48

Clinical psychologists

Hmm...Where, logically, would this stop? Am I a Peer of the Realm, a Nobel Prize winner, and an Olympic Gold Medallist, because 'that is how I choose to identify myself'?

I’m a therapist and I’m white, middle aged, middle class, and female. None of that is relevant because the therapy isn’t about me. It is something I consider in order to exclude my prejudice and to ensure I’m able to work within the client’s frame of reference and, after that, I sit the fuck down because this is the client’s journey, not mine.

Sorry that was to @MrsWinnicott

Fair enough. Alone 'women' might not seem so significant, but taken together with straight, middle class, and white I think it is. These women are often very privileged and entitled. I've heard so many thoughtless comments that I've tried in vain to forget. Lack of diversity is one of the profession's major failings in my opinion.

I saw the OP on Twitter too and am moved to join Mumsnet as a result. I have also read the article and the quotes are out of context to the whole.

All I can say is that those who are very critical and angry about it might want to:

A) Read it
B) Do some meaningful CPD on diversity if you're STILL angry after reading it

Namaste

Can't wait to see Jessica Taylor on this. She would be tear it to bits.

Surely potential clients will give narcissists like this a wide berth?

That's so interesting about Maslow's.

I'm not a CP but I am a member of the HCPC.

I can't do my job, which sex is a central issue in, if I have to pretend that sex isn't real.

I live in Scotland where the Hate Crime Bill is about to criminalise me for believing that the trans woman who accesses my clinic is of the male sex.

If a patients sex is clinically relevant and I need to mention it in order to provide good care - then I think I'll be vulnerable to an accusation of tranphsobia as a hate crime. Which could get me struck off.

The problem with this situation is that I would not contemplate applying for a post at a gender clinic. It is all too fraught, too political, too dangerous to my career to work at a GIC. Which is a shame, as I have th skills, experience and nature to be ideal to work with that population, apart from you know, being able to recognise sex when I see it.

How will waiting lists at GICs ever come down if HCPs are wary (for good reason) of working in this field?

It's all so short sighted and stupid. All of it.

Just as a heads up - this thread has attracted attention from certain people on Twitter who are not being very complimentary.

There was a recent online conference where like minded clinicians came together to discuss how this issue is affecting their practice. It also had a variety of other speakers who talked about related issues: "DO NOT ADJUST YOUR SET”: SEX,GENDER and PUBLIC POLICY.

The conference was recorded but I don't know if it's only available to ticket holders.

@SingToTheSky I saw your original before it was pulled!

That's the good thing about doing the course as an older student, I am unlikely to be pulled into the 'be kind' scenarios.

I actually have a live discussion coming up on mental disorders and gender in the next few days. I am planning to take part, I'm just a bit worried about actually saying anything.

I have touched on it in a previous discussion where I discussed Maslow's Hierarchy of Need. How it is possible we are at the 'self actualisation' stage which is why identity and pronouns are playing such a prevalent part in people's lives. I made a small comment about if identity is your biggest worry then you're doing ok and someone else agreed that it seems like a privilege to be in a position to be concerned with identity. But the discussion came to an end soon after (time constraints) so I didn't get chance to follow up on it and it's very hard over Zoom anyway.

But its so worrying if it's coming from the affiliated bodies that these things are a thing!

Ah. Deleted for wrong phrasing. Clean version: DSD is also doing a masters in psychology, and despite having a really good conversation about these issues back in 2019 where I was so happy she got it, she now seems to have been captured, and I’m gutted.

This is something that really concerns me. I am currently studying for an MSc in Psychology. Several topics talk about the differences between male and female and they tend to call them both sex and gender.

I'm at a very woke university (only just discovered how woke when it was in the rest recently)and with it being an online course, the subjects of pronouns and gender have been avoided so far, but I really want to question the tutors on this.

However I am too scared of jeopardising my place or my marks if I out myself as GC, but I'm also 45 years old and know a bit about the world and biology and it annoys the heck out of me that I feel I am too scared to ask questions on a masters course!

There's also BPSWatch, which is blogging and tweeting about poor governance at the BPS - including editorial interference on publications about sex and gender.

bpswatch.com/

squeakylittlealiens Some clinicians are meeting online to discuss issues in private, for obvious reasons.

A number of therapists are talking about things publicly - to one degree or another.

Therapists Stella O'Malley and Sasha Ayed have a fantastic podcast - Gender A Wider Lens. This episode on Collective Collusion is great:

https://gender-a-wider-lens.captivate.fm/episode/7-collective-collusion

There was a recent online conference where like minded clinicians came together to discuss how this issue is affecting their practice. It also had a variety of other speakers who talked about related issues: "DO NOT ADJUST YOUR SET”: SEX,GENDER and PUBLIC POLICY.

The conference was recorded but I don't know if it's only available to ticket holders.

If you don't already, it's also worth following concerned practitioners on Twitter - the ones I've mentioned here and upthread plus Dr Az Maxwell Hazeem and Kirsty Entwistle. Sasha is Inspired Teen Therapy on Twitter.

All the associations are 'captured' and have signed the Memorandum of Understanding. But, once you know who has a wider perspective then I think you'll be able to start reaching out and making connections.

Good luck and thank you - it's so important that therapists are able to retain their critical thinking and uphold their training.

On similar lines, I found it disturbingly unprofessional when a lesbian co-volunteer wore badges to inform the public, in effect, about what she did in bed. It was good she gave pro bono advice to them, but what possible reason could there be for forcing that personal information onto them?

This will have its day. The overreach will be its downfall.

And there are an increasing number of therapists at all levels of the profession who see right through this and are joining together to say a big fat NO.

Please don't worry too much, OP.

It's essential that my identity or that of a client/supervisee is simply respected, otherwise we get into the territory of fascist rhetoric masquerading as free speech'.
If this isn't projection, I don't know what is.

Being gaslighted is extremely damaging to one's mental health.

The remedy, I find, is to go and read something by Marcus Evans, Dave Bell, Sue Evans or Heather Brunskell- Evans.