Gender Exploratory Therapy (GET) - Conversion Therapy

Gender Exploratory Therapy (GET) – Conversion Therapy

By Translucent TeamJanuary 4, 20253 Mins Read

Summary

Gender Exploratory Therapy (GET) – Conversion Therapy explores the reasoning behind a patient's gender dysphoria, but there are concerns that it is a conversion therapy technique that can inflict harm on trans youth by tying dysphoria to trauma, delaying access to gender-affirming care and lacking an estimated duration for the therapy.

Gender Exploratory Therapy (GET) – Briefing Note – Conversion Therapy.

As part of its election manifesto, the Labour government promised to ban conversion therapy, which is the practice of using various nefarious methods to try and force someone to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.

However, there is a possible weakness in this proposal for trans people regarding a practice known as “Gender Exploratory Therapy” (GET).

At first sight, GET looks like a reasonable psychiatric procedure of “exploring” the reasons why someone’s gender identity doesn’t match their biological sex. However, there are no limits to what the therapist can explore – meaning a therapist with the INTENT to change someone’s gender identity has a route to do so and can take as long as they wish.

As a result, at best, access to gender-affirming medical care or puberty blockers is delayed, and at worst, it is denied.

This delay or denial can lead to increased gender dysphoria, mental health issues, and even suicidal ideation among transgender individuals.

Gender Exploratory Therapy (GET) – Named Hate Groups

GET is promoted by two named SPLC “Hate Groups”, SEGM and Genspect, who have maintained that rather than medical treatments, young people should have “psychotherapy” instead. GET practitioners allege that their patients’ gender dysphoria is caused by sexual trauma, homophobia, social contagion, and autism, and they only approve of medical transition as a very last resort, often when people are in their mid-twenties. Further, SEGM has been named as the primary source of trans-hostile pseudoscience material.

SPLC are a highly respected human rights organisation that forced the racist organisation the Ku Klux Klan into bankruptcy.

When challenging a patient’s identity, some GET practitioners may refrain from using their patient’s preferred names and pronouns. Refusing to accept someone’s gender identity is transphobia. One recipient of GET said:

“I didn’t know that the therapist I was seeing was a conversion therapist. She marketed herself as an LGBTQLGBTQ LGBTQIA+ is an inclusive term that includes people of all genders and sexualities, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer, intersex, asexual, pansexual, and allies. While each letter in LGBTQIA+ stands for a specific group of people, the term encompasses the entire spectrum of gender fluidity and sexual identities. https://abbreviations.yourdictionary.com/what-does-lgbtqia-stand-for-full-acronym-explained.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT therapist, but she was anything but. The whole experience was cruel and painful. I wish I had been smarter back then so I could have realised what she was trying to do by tying my gender dysphoria to my trauma. I could have saved myself years of pain and heartbreak.”

There are no known empirical studies examining psychosocial or medical outcomes following GET, and there are concerns that the lack of an estimated duration for the therapy could exacerbate mental suffering in trans youth due to delays in any medical interventions.

Gender Exploratory Therapy (GET) – Florence Ashley

In 2022, bioethicist Florence Ashley commented on gender exploratory treatment, claiming that its portrayal as an aimless investigation of underlying psychological problems was akin to LGBT conversion techniques like “reparative therapy” previously used on gay people and proven to be dangerous.

Gender Exploratory Therapy (GET) – National Health Service.

It is very concerning that within the NHS, a few health professionals have close links to SEGM and even speak at their events. It is even more concerning that there are NHS health professionals who approve of and likely use Gender Exploratory Therapy. The very fact that there are health professionals within the NHS who believe GET is a legitimate therapy may well lead parents of gender-questioning children to private healthcare providers.

ENDS