Therapy First

🛑 Gender distress should not lead to the immediate affirmation of a trans identity.  A good therapist will work with a young person on an individualized basis to explore the roots of their feelings about gender.  Download our free Clinical Guide to learn more about best practice in working with gender-distressed young people.  Find the Guide via the link in the first comment.

"The author uncovered the truth about the dangers of transitioning minors—and stood up to bans, boycotts, and smears".  Reading in The Free Press about the virulent opposition it faced, the impact of Irreversible Damage seems even more impressive.  Thank you to Abigail Shrier for standing up for truth and for science.

Times are changing, and fast. Today the Washington Post published a balanced, science-based article about pediatric gender medicine, acknowledging the scant evidence base for the widespread adaption of the gender affirming model in the US.  Read the article via the link in the first comment.

🇬🇧☀️It’s a good news day: the UK has made its puberty blocker ban indefinite.  The Department of Health said that expert evidence demonstrated "an unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children". May the medical associations of the US soon see sense!

⚡️Baroness Hilary Cass is interviewed today about creating a better dialogue on gender.  Many lessons here for the US! Read the article via the link in our first comment.

🛑 Chase Strangio, ACLU attorney, last week admitted to the Supreme Court that transgender activists' narrative about the risk of suicide in transgender-identified youth is false.  The "live daughter or dead son" narrative used to manipulate thousands of parents into consenting to treatment under the gender affirming model was never based in truth.  Strangio told the court in US vs Skrmetti: "What I think that is referring to is there is no evidence in some—in the studies that this treatment reduces completed suicide. And the reason for that is completed suicide, thankfully and admittedly, is rare and we’re talking about a very small population of individuals with studies that don’t necessarily have completed suicides within them".  Read Leor Sapir's analysis via the link in our bio.  #medicaltransition #pubertyblockers #skrmetti #transkids #teentherapy #childpsychologist

⚖️Clementine Breen, who detransitioned after a double mastectomy and years on testosterone, is suing Dr Johanna Olson-Kennedy and a number of other clinicians who treated her under the gender affirming model.  Named defendants include the therapist to whom Johanna Olson-Kennedy referred Ms Breen.  Find the article in today's Economist via the link in the first comment.

💙 Thank you! Our first-ever Giving Tuesday campaign was a huge success, thanks to your incredible generosity!  We’re heading into 2025 stronger, and ready to provide even more resources and support for clinicians and families. If you missed your chance to donate, it’s not too late! We’ve extended our donation window through December 8, 2024. Donate $50 or more today to join our exclusive virtual Supporters-Only Roundtable with leading clinicians. Donations via the link in the first comment.

🔥We are happy to see the expansion of the public debate in the US around gender.  In the Boston Globe today, journalist Lisa Selin Davis explains the lack of robust evidence for the gender affirming model, and why we must do better for our children. Link to the article is in the first comment.

💙 Today is Giving Tuesday, and we need YOU! Every dollar you donate today goes directly toward empowering therapists and supporting youth experiencing gender-related distress. Donate $50 or more by December 4, 2024, and get an exclusive invite to our virtual Supporters-Only Roundtable with top clinicians in the field. Donate via the link in the first comment, and be a part of the solution.