Listen to Polly Carmichael of @TaviAndPort talking here in October last year. She acknowledges the 'significant' rise in female referrals and that this trend is not only seen in the UK but in Europe and US too. acamh.org/event/gender/
Recognises that many young people come forward after seeing something on tv or online, we can't explain the increase in females and that there are concerns about young women who previously would have had an outcome around sexuality now having an outcome around gender.
Recognises that there has been a change in the nature of referrals and that many coming through now have significant associated difficulties, eg. anxiety, being in care, abuse, social difficulties, ASD, so counselling is important and just a medical approach is retrogressive.
We need to be careful about discourse created around gender dysphoric young people & narrative which is so negative and suggests lack of agency & resilience. Self-harm, distress & suicidal ideation rates are similar to CAMHS figures. PACE suicide study is deeply flawed.
Reparative v Affirmative therapy is an extreme binary which is unhelpful, there is a large grey area in between. 'Affirmation' is newly-emerging approach. With new ban on 'reparative therapy,' we need to be careful to be clear on what that means, we need considered approach.
We need to separate opinion from empirical data, we need to hear a diversity of voices. We are now seeing children aged 3 or 4 fully socially-transitioned. There is no consensus amongst professionals, there is v little published long-term outcome data. More research is needed.
The number of pre-pubertal children referred to Tavistock who desist is around 75%, reflecting the wider research studies - desistance rate is NOT 'debunked.' Children given message that puberty is to be dreaded. Concerns that treatment influences the outcome.
There is a big push from certain groups for earlier interventions, but there is no evidence base. Children lose fertility options. How much are we buying into the idea that in order to be accepted children need to change their bodies? Can we do more to accept gender diversity?
Puberty blockers are put forward as a way to buy time and 'fully reversible' but this is disingenuous. Really we don't know fully what the impact is on the developing brain. We don't know the impact of cross-sex hormones or how they may influence trajectory of gender identity.
We are saying exactly the same as Polly Carmichael, Director of the Tavistock Gender Identity Service. For this we are called 'anti-trans', a 'hate site', 'transphobic' and accused of promoting 'conversion therapy' and putting children at risk. We listen to the professionals.
