Can anyone help me complain about this?

Is this CPCAB L2? I would not be writing to them about anything to do this.

In this case I would respond along the lines of:
Thank you for your helpful feedback, as so do not want to discriminate I have reviewed the EA2010 www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/part/2/chapter/1 and found that Sex, Sexual Orientation and Gender reassignment are 3 of the 9 protected characteristics.

However, I have been unable to find any reference to Gender Identity, which is different to Gender Reassignment, as a protected characteristic. I would really appreciate it if you could send me a link to the relevant section.

No one can take offence asking for a legal reference.

The protected characteristic in the Act is being interpreted by tribunals to include people who identify as non-binary, gender fluid or transitioning. You might want to be careful about getting into a legal technical debate with her on this point.
Definitely the protected characteristic of gender reassignment has in practice come to resemble much of what is meant by "gender identity", so this gotcha doesn't make much tangible difference here.

But democratic rule of law means recognising the legislation which Parliament approved and which we can all see and debate, rather than certain organisations' self-serving interpretations. So I'd probably say something to the tutor to make her aware of her factual error, while also noting that the scope of "gender reassignment" is still being explored by the courts and might - or might not - in time come to be contiguous with Stonewall's definitions of "gender identity".

It's also poor form for the tutor to be misquoting the EA without checking, and it suggests a disappointing intellectual laziness and lack of curiosity. But those characteristics may also make engaging with her fruitless (suddenly I'm thinking of Wagatha Christie and pigeons).

@GoodJanetBadJanet my apologies, on my phone and, because with the update it now judders when it scrolls, I didn't see that I had muxxed up 2 posts.

I wouldn't dream of deliberately maligning you for something you hadn't posted!

However, the sentiment remains. A counsellor and or therapist can, and indeed should, refer on any client for whom they cannot give their best to.

It would be unethical to accept a client if your feelings about their stuff will get in the way of the work. That's not bigotry, that's in the clients' best interest, surely?

Going by that logic, it's OK for a counsellor to refuse to accept a client because you thought being gay was a choice, it's not natural and they could choose to not be (NOT my views, by the way, just giving an example.)
If you feel that you can't work with them despite that being your feelings and that's all that you're basing not wanting to work with them on, that's not bigotry, that's just in the client's best interest, surely?
Going by your logic that is.

My Janet, what long arms you have. That was a stretch, even for you!
Say what?
Also, why link to someone else's post and then refer to me?
You make no sense.
That wasn't even my post so not entirely sure what you're going on about, sorry.

This is nonsense. As I and others have said, counsellors and therapists don't have any kind of ethical duty to take on anyone who turns up at their door. Most require a first exploratory session where both client and therapist check out whether they think they are a good fit. Either party can decide not to go any further. A good therapist will be honest if they have reason to believe you're not ready for therapy or they're not the right therapist for you. A bad therapist will take your money every week and spend years reflecting stuff back at you as you go round in ever-decreasing circles.

Sorry, *men and TM

@DontLikeCrumpets I think the key point here is not the extent of transition, but the comparator. My understanding is that under the PC of Gender Reassignment, the comparator is someone of the same birth sex who hasn't transitioned. That's why it's confusing when it's given as "gender identity" or "gender", because those terms suggest that the comparator should be someone of the opposite sex. I mean, under gender ideology, we all have a gender identity, right? So if Stonewall Law was true, both myself and a TW would be categorised together in opposition to men and TW, but in reality no such legal grouping exists. You can't treat a TW worse than a man who isn't trans, but you don't therefore have to treat them as a woman in all respects or swear that you believe that they are one.

No, it's Gender Reassignment that is the protected characteristic. Here you go:
www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents

It's listed on the opening page, you don't have to go looking for it.

My Janet, what long arms you have. That was a stretch, even for you!

Don't be daft. A counsellor can refuse, refer on, any potential client they want to. Who would ant to insist on speaking to a counsellor who has no experience or no desire to treat you? They need to refer on. But cannot be forced to take on a client they gave a fundamental issue with. Your rights don't get stripped when you get certified!

Oh, and you absolutely should 'discriminate' in which clients you feel you wouldn't work with effectively. It would be unethical to accept a client if your feelings about their stuff will get in the way of the work. That's not bigotry, that's in the clients' best interest, surely? If I want to talk about my abortion, a therapist who sincerely believes I'm going to hell for what I've done isn't going to be best placed to help me, are they?

In this context, helping someone would be to refer them to a different counsellor.

www.transgendertrend.com/product/captured-the-full-story-behind-the-memorandum-of-understanding-on-conversion-therapy/

This might be useful OP.

She’s just gently reminding you of your ethical duty as a (trainee) counsellor that in your future practice you cannot discriminate.

Yes, this

Saying you think you would have a problem helping trans people, I can see why she has given you feedback on that as that does sound discriminatory.
You can't discriminate against someone (ie, not wanting to help someone) just because they're trans and you "don't believe that they can change sex."

Yes, it is the act of reassignment, no matter how superficial, that is protected. Not the inumerable names for 'gender' that are lost to / currently undefined in law.

So you can have stated your decision to be trans (and maybe non binary, depending on the outcome of a HOC discussion in a short while) and that is something that is protected.

But if you choose to be a Zebra/Zero then that identity is not. It can be laughed at called into question

@Pluvia
I thought gender is a protected characteristic in the Equality Act given that one only has to express the intent to transition.

Gender reassignment

(1)A person has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if the person is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.

Maybe the OP wants to challenge because challenging this is the only way of ensuring that the tutor understands that she hasn't properly understood the Equality Act. And because the OP is well-informed on this issue and the tutor has recommended reading material from lobby groups that have no credible evidence to back up their claims?

It might be interesting, OP, if you could talk this over with other students and compare what they listed as their potential areas of bias and what feedback the tutor gave them. I might have mentioned being uncomfortable with the idea of counselling someone with fundamentalist religious ideas. I wonder what she'd have recommended I read to redress the balance.

That paragraph you wrote was commendably honest and in good faith but it contains and exposes inherent contradictions, notwithstanding the tutor's own mistakes and failings re understanding the topic and the law.

And having explored her feelings OP would be within her rights, as a therapist or otherwise, to recognise that she would never be a good fit for a transwoman and to reject them from her client base on those grounds - that she would not be effective! Some may choose to call that discrimination, but, given the context, you'd have to seriously consider their motives for doing so!

I don't see what is to be gained, for you, by challenging your tutor out of anger. You, the student, are indignant that it isn't her job to lecture you; still less is it your job to lecture her. Your anger may be dictating your reaction rather than looking at this coolly.

As I see it, you are both wrong in different ways - she about the Act, (and I find it striking that she did not mention sex as one of her examples of the nine protected characteristics, which is disturbing, especially given the topic but not only for that reason) and there is something for you to consider seriously about your ability to counsel a trans person, given your stated view about gender, and that you would find it difficult to listen to their struggle, while going on to state you espouse the right to identify and that you respect names and pronouns. That paragraph you wrote was commendably honest and in good faith but it contains and exposes inherent contradictions, notwithstanding the tutor's own mistakes and failings re understanding the topic and the law.

Yes, annoyingly, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (quoted below from their website) seems to support her, although she's got her terminology wrong. So that's not the unassailable fact I'd like it to be.
To be protected from gender reassignment discrimination, you do not need to have undergone any specific treatment or surgery to change from your birth sex to your preferred gender. This is because changing your physiological or other gender attributes is a personal process rather than a medical one.
You can be at any stage in the transition process – from proposing to reassign your gender, to undergoing a process to reassign your gender, or having completed it.

No it really doesn't. You can reply that, as per the EHRC you fully understand that a person need not to have undergone any specific treatment or surgery to change from your birth sex to your preferred gender. This is because changing your physiological or other gender attributes is a personal process rather than a medical one.
You can be at any stage in the transition process – from proposing to reassign your gender, to undergoing a process to reassign your gender, or having completed it.

However the protected characteristic remains Gender Reassignment not Identity. A fine line to draw but given the importance of the issue clarity and correct terminology are paramount. Thank her for her input and move on.