The lies about puberty blockers & children - personal accounts

[MrsOvertonsWindow]

Two appalling accounts from Hannah Barnes of the "treatment" doled out by GIDs to two extremely mentally unwell children.
Jacob who was started on puberty blockers by GIDs at the age of 12! and Alex with severe OCD that was ignored in favour of offering transitioning.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11764509/Devastating-new-book-reveals-plight-hundreds-child-patients-Tavistock-gender-clinic.html

That is truly hard reading MrsO.

The thing that strikes me is that for all these people declaring ‘these treatments will always have a small number of people they don’t work for’, almost every review of this book has highlighted different cases, and different aspects.

What underscores all of those stories is the lack of curiosity of why this patient is this way?

What underscores those stories is that their comorbities were not addressed?

I've just clicked onto that story, right after this one:

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11765183/Mother-says-let-meant-help-sons-experience-Tavistock-clinic.html

He's fortunate in having the mother he has.

From @MrsOvertonsWindow linked report:

An audit published in 2002 of the first 124 patients to be seen by the service showed that only 2.5 per cent of those referred had no associated problems.

At that time, a quarter had spent time in care, nearly half had lost one or both parents through bereavement or separation (predominantly the latter), and close to a quarter of those aged over 12 had histories of self-harming and ‘inappropriately sexualised behaviour’.

We don’t know how the thousands of young people referred more recently compare. In the Netherlands, the pioneers of the medical treatment of gender difficulties, young people have to have experienced it from childhood, and, crucially, be psychologically stable, with no other major mental health problems.

It's outrageous SinnerBoy
As Alex's mother observed:

"Diana struggles to understand how any stretched NHS service would send a senior clinician several hours across the country to meet someone with mental health problems so severe that he could not leave home, and yet still raise the possibility of physical transition — arguably the most invasive option — as a way forward".

@SinnerBoy

What stood out for me in your post:

”..only 2.5% of those referred had NO associated problems.” (Caps my own)

Worth repeating.

I know. I saw this being said yesterday somewhere. However, that was in 2002.

I suspect that the % would be lower now (maybe not by much though). I only say that because I would expect that in 2002 it would be harder to get a gender dysphoria diagnosis. I suspect it got easier to get that diagnosis with the growth of tumblr and social media.

what is just as concerning is just how this data was not collected and studied!

FrancescaContini · Today 08:30

What stood out for me in your post: ”..only 2.5% of those referred had NO associated problems.”

It's simply astounding, isn't it? 97.5% of their patients had mental health problems, history of abuse, self harm and the like, yet few of the clinical staff thought to inquire as to whether the things may have been related.

Helleofabore · Today 08:40

what is just as concerning is just how this data was not collected and studied!

I honestly wonder if they didn't firstly, because they were completely convinced that they were doing the right thing.

Secondly, because they had some idea that the outcomes were poor, but they thought that was worth it, because they'd convinced the children to go onto puberty blockers and then possibly, to have surgery. I mean that believing that the blockers and surgery pathway was best and fuck the side effects.

Yes. It’s very saddening. And shocking. I had naively assumed that the medical professionals dealing with these children would have sought, in the first instance, to gain a clear overview of the child’s background, home life, mental health etc.

Clearly not 😞

When you see it laid out like this, you wonder how on earth professionals went along with it. I can sort of understand the extreme trans activists using children in this way, but qualified clinicians, working in an allegedly accountable organisation with children?
It feels similar to the maternity scandals where so many women and babies were harmed because of an obsession with "natural birth" in the face of all the clinical evidence.