In this episode, Christine and Jaco discuss the highly politicised, but clinically sensitive topic of gender dysphoria with Stella O’Malley and Sasha Ayad. Stella and Sasha are the authors of two chapters in in the book, Cynical Therapies – Perspectives on the Antitherapeutic Nature of Critical Social Justice. An overview is given on the history of gender medicine, and how gender dysphoria was treated from classical psychotherapeutic approaches. We discuss the problems with the affirmative model, its problematic assumptions, and the responsible exploratory approach to psychotherapy.

Stella O’Malley is a psychotherapist, bestselling author and public speaker based in Ireland. Her recent book, What your teen is trying to tell you, was published in 2023. In 2018, she was the writer and presenter of the Channel 4 documentary, Trans Kids: It’s Time to Talk. She is the founder and director of Genspect and the co-host of Gender: A Wider Lens Podcast.

Sasha Ayad is a US-based LIcensed Professional Counsellor who has worked with adolescents for over 13 years. Her current focus is on adolescent-onset gender dysphoria. She is the co-host of Gender: A Wider Lens Podcast.