About Us
Working to preserve ethical exploratory therapy
Challenging the impact of Queer Theory and Gender Identity Ideology on our freedom to practice ordinary exploratory therapy
Our Story
Thoughtful Therapists was founded in 2021 in response to a growing awareness of the GIDS scandal, and the stories we were hearing from colleagues working in the clinic. Realising that children were being poorly assessed and pushed towards medicalisation, this illuminated the ideological takeover of our profession by activists with a pro-trans agenda.
​
James Esses put his name to our gov.uk petition about safeguarding exploratory therapy for gender-distressed children. This was our first action and the backlash was swift and devastating, which confirmed we were facing a serious issue whereby our regulatory bodies, training institutions and programmes had been captured by trans activists.
​
​At the centre of the problem lies the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy (MoU) - a widely adopted activist lead policy signed by most therapeutic bodies, and used to silence debate and put fear into therapists about practicing ordinary exploratory therapy, or even talking about it in professional forums.
​
Our aim was clear, we need to get rid of the MOU!
Who Are We?
We are a group of counsellors, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists from across the UK and Ireland with a shared concern about the impact of gender identity ideology on children and young
What are our concerns?
We are concerned that children and young people are being taught that they can be ‘born in the wrong body’; that they can ‘change sex’, or opt out of being male or female altogether; that their ‘gender’ can be different from their biological sex; and that if they feel ‘different’ in some indefinable way from their peers, or do not conform to common gender stereotypes, it may be because they are ‘trans’.
We are concerned about the continued widespread acceptance of an ‘affirmative approach’ towards gender-confused children and young people, especially within therapy. This irresponsibly overlooks and ignores the complexity of the feelings and experiences which so often underlie young people’s distress.
We are concerned that instead of the rejection of the reality of their sexed bodies being regarded as a cause for concern and a safeguarding issue, children’s adoption of a different ‘gender identity’ is often celebrated and encouraged, to the likely detriment of their long-term mental, emotional and physical health.
We are concerned that this approach, lacking both compassion and curiosity, will become enshrined in law if the government’s proposed Bill banning trans-inclusive ‘conversion therapy’ goes ahead. This would potentially criminalise therapists, doctors, parents, teachers and others who seek to address young people’s distress in a holistic and responsible way, rather than offering purely ideological affirmation.
Why is this happening?
Underlying this ‘affirmative approach’ is the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy (MoU) to which over thirty healthcare and therapy organisations are signatories, including the NHS and many professional membership bodies representing counsellors and psychotherapists. Initially intended to protect lesbian, gay and bisexual people from abusive conversion therapy (which is already outlawed by existing legislation), the revision of the Memorandum in 2017 also included the nebulous concept ‘gender identity’. Highly unusually, the Memorandum also fails to distinguish between therapeutic support for adults and for children.
While the affirmative approach is not specifically mentioned in the document, the Memorandum makes clear that a traditional, exploratory approach to a young person’s confusion should only be initiated where that person is uncertain or distressed about their ‘gender identity’. However, all too often, young people present with certainty about this. In these circumstances, the professionally necessary exploration of other deeper and longer-term issues which have led to this conviction could be construed as ‘conversion therapy’
The landmark Cass Review, published in April 2024, warns of the dangers of casual ‘affirmation’ and recommends initially taking a holistic psychotherapeutic approach to gender confusion in children and young people. The government has recently extended the ban on the prescription of puberty blockers to people under the age of 18 indefinitely. However, the Memorandum remains in force, with many medical and therapy bodies still in thrall to its provisions, to the detriment of many young people. Its provisions are likely to form the basis of any ‘conversion therapy’ ban
What do we want?
To protect the integrity of neutral, exploratory therapy for all clients - children and adults - presenting with issues regarding ‘gender identity’. We wish to hold a boundary around the therapeutic space and to limit constraints placed upon us by political ideologies of any kind.
We seek support from the government and our professional bodies to continue to practice in line with the modalities in which we are trained, and for our professional bodies to uphold this in their ethical frameworks.
We would like the government to abandon its current plans to for legislation introduce a trans-inclusive ‘conversion therapy’ ban.
We call on our regulatory and membership bodies to reconsider their allegiance to the Memorandum, version 2, and instead support long-established psychotherapeutic practice.
