New Guidelines - Exploratory Therapy for Gender Questioning Young People

[FactsAndFeelingsMum]

I put this on LGBT parents - thought women might be interested here too.

The Gender Exploratory Therapy Association (GETA) has released its Clinical Guide for Therapists Working with Gender-Questioning Youth. Haven't read the whole thing but it looks pretty good and wont be a surprise to anyone who's been following Stella O'Malley and Sasha Ayad's "Gender Through a Wider Lens" podcasts (I have been binge-listening!). It's what it says on the tin "exploratory" and it should make a cracking good alternative to the "affirmative" therapy model that channels young people straight towards drugss and surgery.

This is what we should have been able to expect from the Tavistock GIDS.

And its release is good news! Massive appreciation to everyone who wrote and contributed to the guide.

Thanks OP that's my afternoon reading sorted.

I suspect the activists will never get further than the introduction on page 1 though before they start complaining:

The exploratory approach outlined here stands in contrast to the “gender-affirmative
approach,” which has gained popularity in recent years.

that's going to go down well!

Perhaps everything would be clearer if people knew exactly what 'gender' is supposed to be and why children even need to question it in the first place.

If you listen really hard, you can already hear the shrieks of "Conversion therapy!"

@Boiledbeetle Enjoy!

Activists are welcome to complain themselves blue in the face as far as I'm concerned. Now that there is an alternative they're only showing themselves up unless they can ground their complaints in evidence that "affirmation" is better. I wont hold my breath.

Finally, some sense.

Well, that's going to go down like a cup of cold sick...

@VaginaRegina See page 7. The authors must have heard phantom cries before they started writing

😁yep vagina they knew that was coming

Something to celebrate. Still working within the basic framework of gender ideology, and gender being a thing, but at least will potentially slow down the rate at which children get channelled towards drugs and surgery, one would hope.

It's a bit of a shame about that sentence in the para you quoted, @Boiledbeetle:

"Nevertheless, few would argue that any attempt to force a normative gender identification and expression has no place in health care", which, unless I'm reading it completely wrong, says exactly the opposite of what I think the author meant to say. Or is that just me?

I don't read it that way.

To me, it is saying that a healthcare setting is not the place to try to suppress a person's individuality or force a person to fit a label which they feel at odds with. Instead, it is looking to explore why there are feelings of incongruence.

It's not just you. It should say 'has a place' not 'has no place'. Looks like the sentence was rewritten and it wasn't proofed properly.

Thanks factsandfeelingsmum, I shall look forward to reading this.

And I've just re-read it and see exactly what you mean!

It's a badly constructed sentence.

Having just woken from the snooze that reading the document caused me to fall into. I've now read that sentence so many times, but I think your right Vagina, it's not right is it. I'm having a hard time focusing though right now. I'm not quite awake yet.

Hope you had a good nap @Boiledbeetle And I agree with everyone about that confusing sentence.

This is so true, what is gender and why is it a thing? I think treating gender like reality is still misleading to kids. Would it be too radical to say that 'gender' these days now just means stereotypes (maybe I'm wrong but I always thought it meant sex). But yes, a huge step in the right direction.