Children who think they are trans are probably just going through a ‘phase’, says the NHS

Children who believe they are trans only go through a short-lived phase, the NHS has told doctors.

The health service has issued draft guidelines for treating children and adolescents with gender dysphoria — people who feel their sex is different from theirs.

Physicians should be open to “exploring all developmentally appropriate options” with adolescents, but “remember that this may be a temporary phase,” it says.

“The clinical approach in relation to prepubertal children will reflect evidence that in most cases the gender mismatch does not persist into adolescence,” the NHS said.

And health chiefs said “social transition” should no longer be viewed as a “neutral act” because of the significant impact it can have on a child’s psychology.

Social transition is when a person lives as a gender different from their biological sex but is not taking transitional medications, such as. B. controversial puberty blockers or hormones.

People can change their names, pronouns, and dress in clothing normally associated with their opposite sex. They can also use the bathrooms or changing rooms of their preferred identity instead of their biological sex.

Your family, friends and school are encouraged to support this process, in line with NHS guidelines.

Children considering gender change might be discouraged from a social transition, such as B. switching pronouns or dressing like the opposite sex, as the NHS proposes changing its approach to cultivating gender identity

Even for older children who are already entering puberty, social transition should only be considered as a last resort in severe cases.

“Social transition should only be considered when the approach is needed to alleviate or prevent clinically significant distress or significant impairment in social functioning and the young person is able to fully understand the implications of an affirmative social transition ‘ the draft reads.

Stella O’Malley, a psychotherapist and leader of campaign group Genspect, said medical professionals need to heed warnings about social transition.

“Professionals working with children need to think about this and make sure they are not inadvertently doing harm by providing short-term relief that leads to long-term suffering,” she said.

“At Genspect, we believe that children should be free to wear whatever clothes they want, boys should be free to roam and wave fairy wands in princess dresses, and girls should be free to behave as they please, but we don’t believe that changing pronouns helps anyone – it creates more problems than it solves.’

NHS England’s draft guidelines are part of the health service’s plan to close the highly controversial Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock Clinic, the country’s only gender identity service for children.

GIDS is set to close its doors in the spring after a review ruled the service was insecure.

It emerged that other mental health issues were “overshadowed” in favor of gender identity treatment, leading to allegations that staff rushed children onto powerful drugs.

As part of its response, NHS England said GIDS would be replaced with two services, one in London and one in the North West.

The new London service will be run by a partnership between Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and Evelina London Children’s Hospital.

In the North West, the service will be a partnership between Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

After these first two, another six or seven similar services could open in other parts of the country.

These services would work within the framework of the draft documents now open for public consultation.

Other changes in the draft include a crackdown on referrals to gender identity maintenance.

Under current guidelines, health and social services workers, teachers and charities can refer a child they believe is suffering from gender dysphoria to specialist NHS care.

But under the new system, referrals to NHS gender identity services would be limited to GPs and healthcare workers only.

At least 15 pre-school children were referred to NHS England’s gender identification service in 2021 and 2022

Other sections of the draft also state that puberty blockers should only be made available through an NHS research program and medics should consider protective procedures when children receive such medicines online.

Documents released yesterday also show that at least 15 children under the age of four have been referred to the NHS’ transgender health service in England over the past two years.

A similar number of five-year-olds were referred to GIDS between 2021 and 2022.

NHS documents say that in total over 5,000 children have been referred to Tavistock’s service in the last two years because they feared their gender identity was mismatched with their biological sex.

Only half of the referrals concerned children aged 15 and over.

Patients currently treated in Tavistock’s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) will be transferred to the new operators early next year.

NHS England’s draft policy is in response to an ongoing review of GIDS by Senior Pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass, who warned the gender clinic was “not a safe or viable long-term option”.

She found that when children were referred to Tavistock, other mental health issues were “overshadowed” in favor of gender identity issues.

The clinic had been accused by former patients of putting children on anti-puberty drugs who didn’t feel challenged enough.

dr Cass has called for “rapid” research into the drugs’ use after finding “inadequate evidence” of their benefits.

GIDS has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, with activists accusing it of putting children on drugs that block puberty.

Former patient Keira Bell took the clinic to the High Court in 2020, claiming she was not challenged enough when she was prescribed the drugs at the age of 16.

Feedback on draft NHS guidelines closes on December 4th.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk