A new position statement by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists wouldn’t ordinarily impact my professional life very much, but I am hopeful that the recent one addressing issues relating to gender non-conforming people will make a difference for healthcare workers beyond the realm of psychiatry.
In acknowledging there are “multiple perspectives and views” about the appropriate clinical approach towards children and teenagers seeking treatment for gender issues, the college offers a chance that Australian health professionals can have an evidence-based and client-centred conversation about the best way to treat and support young people experiencing symptoms of gender dysphoria or gender incongruence.
It also provides some hope that Australia can contain a pattern seen elsewhere in the world where health professionals and educators have either been disciplined or lost their jobs for expressing deeply held concerns that the dominant gender-affirming approach causes harm to some young people who report symptoms of gender dysphoria.
It’s an issue I have some first-hand experience with. Earlier this year I was the subject of a formal complaint – my first in 45 years of working as a clinical psychologist. The complaint was brought by a group of people from the transgender community who objected to views I expressed in a podcast for the Australian Psychological Society.
As for the complaint against me, the APS took the view that dissenting views to any policy should be heard. The podcast was edited in parts but remains available. In a recent legal decision in Britain, the right of people to express beliefs critical of the theories behind the gender-affirmative approach has been affirmed and anyone with those views is now protected from accusations of discrimination. We need this legal right in Australia.