Jancie Turner on Banning Conversion Therapy

[Igneococcus]

Yay, share tokens work again:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ba6b6340-b4f8-11eb-9055-64edaa2be8dd?shareToken=081c12c70e198007867f568131be11db

It will be interesting to see how this plays out as there are two opposing view points:

Conversion therapy is the belief that trans identity can be cured by treatment. The interpretation of this is that trans girls are girls and trans boys are boys and any attempt to do anything other than affirm and then assist in their transformation with hormones and surgery is conversion therapy.

irct.org/media-and-resources/latest-news/article/1027
www.noconversioncanada.com/what-is-conversion-therapy

Then there is the less vocal, gender critical point of view that to use hormones and surgery to change the sex of a person is fact a form of Conversion Therapy and that is what should be approached with extreme caution but to allow therapist to encourage their clients to explore the reasons behind their feelings and not to rush to affirm, prescribe puberty blockers, engage in physically harmful practices like breast-binding and to take actions that are difficult to come back from, is wise..

Chateaux. Yes your second point is exactly the point I was trying to come from. It seems crazy to me that being anti-conversion therapy is called the opposite.

They are being sold the lie that altering their body is the cure all, instead of dealing with the actual reasons they have an issue with their body on the first place.

Lily Maynard @LilyLilyMaynard
Gender therapist who thinks baby boys who unsnap their onesies to ‘make a dress’ and baby girls who tear out hair grips are giving ‘pre verbal indications’ that they are transgender
twitter.com/LilyLilyMaynard/status/1312474230299086848

Gosh. Wouldnt it be shocking for a boy to break norms and wear a dress. Or for a girl not to like hairgrips 🙄. Its a scary position to come from such rigid ideas of gender.

@youcantoucan I need to find it but I think HoP referred to a very old case in the speeches (1960/70s?) and I would agree that it is not practised, but there has been a distinct renewal of conversation around this, instigated by the GEO LGBT Advisory panel that reached its natural end in March, supported by lobby groups and it followed the government decision not to pass Self ID into law.

I'll dig it out late but if you can find it, Glinner had a great interview with Thoughtful Therapists and James Caspian explained the background to the memorandum of understanding really well.

It's good that the public consultation isn't until Sept as those submitting to it won't need to rush submissions. That would include lobby groups and supporters of conversion therapy for children who mentally feel at odds with their biological sex.

From the Queens speech (P116):

● We will also launch a consultation before details of the ban are finalised to hear from a wide range of voices on how best to protect people from conversion therapy.

● We have commissioned research into the scope of practices and experiences of those subjected to conversion therapy, so that we can fully consider the needs of all those it affects.

● We will shortly invite organisations to bid to develop a package of support that will ensure victims of conversion therapy are able to find and access the help that they need. We anticipate that, following a competitive tender, the chosen provider will be in place by the summer.

We have commissioned research into the scope of practices and experiences of those subjected to conversion therapy

What's the scope of the research? Previous surveys focused on faith organisations but what about gender non conforming youth following the pattern of identifying as gay, bi or lesbian being told they could be trans by various people?

CONVERSION THERAPY CONSULTATION IN SEPTEMBER

LGB Alliance@ALLIANCELGB

Why don't some people want to hear from detransitioners? Why are they vilified & even threatened? We encourage @trussliz @KemiBadenoch to listen to these important voices in the #ConversionTherapy consultation in Sep. #SineadWatson says enough is enough. We agree. #FactsMatter

twitter.com/ALLIANCELGB

twitter.com/ripx4nutmeg/status/1399268991181459458

@youcantoucan

I find this all very strange. As a UKCP registered psychotherapist of over thirty years in practice I can say that I have never had or heard of any training, never seen a book or professional paper regarding how to perform conversion therapy. We are a profession that does a very great deal of reading and publishing!

I,ve never come across a patient who has previously received any conversion therapy from a psychotherapist ,,counsellor, psychologist or psychiatrist.

Quite simply, we don’t offer this; because there isn’t any credible basis for doing so.

And as far as I recall , Freud didn’t offer this either.

I be interested to know what the experience of members of the other professional bodies has been.

I think conversion therapy basically takes place in Christian organisations. The Church of England openly states that homosexuality is wrong and this is freely accepted by many of its members. The people seeking conversion therapy are Christians and they go to Christian counselling services to get it. No one reports it because both sides agree with it. I have seen this with trainee therapists who do placements in Christian organisations. I also know of practitioners who state that if a client comes to them wanting to not be gay any more, they will help them with that in the same way as clients who come with any other therapeutic goal.

The General Synod of the Church of England cited overwhelmingly in favour of a ban on gay conversion therapy in 2017:

www.churchofengland.org/news-and-media/news-and-statements/general-synod-backs-ban-conversion-therapy

The motion read:

That this Synod: (a) endorse the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK of November 2015, signed by The Royal College of Psychiatrists and others, that the practice of gay conversion therapy has no place in the modern world, is unethical, potentially harmful and not supported by evidence; and 3 (b) call upon the Church to be sensitive to, and to listen to, contemporary expressions of gender identity; (c) and call on the government to ban the practice of Conversion Therapy.

General Synod *voted, not cited