by Julie Bindel, UnHerd (Photo: Unsplash)
Clinicians are afraid to speak out
“The gender capture is making a mockery of our profession,” says Lianne Smith*, an experienced clinical psychologist who works with children. “We save lives — I save lives. This approach is destroying lives.”
Smith is in no doubt about the damage she believes is being done within — and by — her profession. Psychology should be a lifeline for youngsters struggling with their mental health. Yet according to a small but growing number of clinicians, their ability to help is being undermined when it comes to those experiencing gender dysphoria.
At the centre of their concerns is the rise of so-called “affirmative care”: an approach which treats a young person’s declared gender identity as something to be validated rather than explored. Complicating the matter yet further is the Conversion Practices Bill, which will criminalise any attempt to instigate conversations around sexual orientation and gender. In other words, it will criminalise those psychologists who attempt to prompt deeper thinking in minors who are gender confused.
I spoke to dozens of psychologists for this investigation, all of whom expressed fears about the professional consequences of speaking openly. The institutions that should be defending them have instead helped create a climate in which voicing scepticism can carry serious consequences — both for clinicians themselves and for the vulnerable young people in their care.