BACP take affirming stance on GSRD

[grizzlyoldbear]

BACP issue this message in this month's magazine

"Counselling and psychotherapy must never seek to change or suppress a person’s gender identity, sexuality or relationship orientation.
As part of our commitment we have developed a Gender, Sexuality and Relationship Diversity (GSRD) resource to support safe, respectful and affirming counselling and psychotherapy for people of all genders, sexualities and relationship identities, which will be published soon. The resource aims to ensure that everyone accessing counselling can feel understood, respected and supported. It recognises that while diversity in gender, sexuality and relationships is a normal part of human experience, people whose identities fall outside dominant social norms often face stigma, discrimination and exclusion. These wider social attitudes can have a significant impact on mental health and wellbeing as well as on people’s experiences of therapy. "

I heard recently of a move away from outcome focussed therapy. The intention was to tackle conversion therapy by ensuring that there was no preferred outcome from the therapy- not to reduce someone’s feelings of attraction to the ‘wrong’ people, nor to steer them away from a gender identity. I was torn. I think the intention was good- open ended, to support individuals to resolve their problems. But it was a fudge. Ultimately, people need to reconcile with the body they have. And that is an outcome.

These wider social attitudes can have a significant impact on mental health and wellbeing as well as on people’s experiences of therapy. "

Seriously, they're blaming the rest of us for certain individuals mental health problems.

OK let's all go on with "agreeing" that a person should not be able to have their own leg chopped off because they honestly believe it doesn't belong to their body but give full affirmation without question to wanting to remove your breasts or your penis.

' safe, respectful and affirming counselling and psychotherapy '

The 'affirming' part puzzles me. I'm not very familiar with counselling and therapy, but is it supposed to just 'affirm' what people are saying?

I know therapy is not supposed to be directive, but if someone is saying totally 'off the wall' stuff [or whatever the technical term for 'off the wall' is] is there not supposed to be some kind of 'centre', some kind of point of balance with observable reality to which the person is guided?
Or 'a path towards a balanced relationship with observable reality, which the person may or may not choose to take', to phrase it even less directively?

It recognises that while diversity in gender, sexuality and relationships is a normal part of human experience, people whose identities fall outside dominant social norms often face stigma, discrimination and exclusion.
What about saying to a man who claimed he was a woman that not only might he face unfair stigma, discrimination and exclusion, but he will also face the widespread belief that changing sex is impossible, meaning that even fair-minded people who think he is lovely will never see him as anything other than a man?

Just affirming everything somebody says seems to be a bit pointless, and looks ripe for takeover by AI.

But I repeat, this isn't a topic I know much about, so happy to be corrected!

These wider social attitudes can have a significant impact on mental health and wellbeing as well as on people’s experiences of therapy. "

That seems to set the scene for the therapy to affirm that any mental health issues are caused by 'social attitudes', rather than because of the futile attempts to change sex or because the mental health issues pre-dated, and possibly caused, the fixation with changing sex.

It recognises that while diversity in gender..............is a normal part of human experience,

I don't recall ever seeing any convincing research showing this. It certainly seems to be a normal part of human experience for some people to feel distress related to their sexed-bodies, but that is not the same thing as diversity in the undefined term 'gender'.

And what's a relationship orientation?

(Okay, I'll shut up now)
IANATherapist

If somebody went into a counselling session having decided in advance that all their mental health issues were the fault of their mother (or of their father, or Sir Keir Starmer, or the Global Paedophile Lizard Conspiracy), would BACP expect the counsellor to "affirm" that? If not, why not?

Yeah this reads like there is no such thing as reality and therapy should not try to bring people back to reality

Maybe there is no such thing as reality, and maybe therapy should not try to bring people back to it, but if so, WTF is therapy and counselling for, what do they spend years studying for, and how much do they charge for not bringing people back to something which doesn't exist anyway..

HenriettaSwanLeavitt 😄
And what's a relationship orientation?
(Okay, I'll shut up now)
IANATherapist

Me neither. I'm giving up trying to understand too

And this is why I am no longer a member of the BACP.

The therapy profession is eating itself.