Good news! The UKCP (the second largest professional body in the UK) has just issued a position statement on guidance regarding gender critical views. Its introduction contains the following: ‘This statement is also being made to highlight the fact that exploratory therapy must not be conflated with conversion therapy‘.

This UKCP statement acknowledges that recent case law in the UK has confirmed that gender critical beliefs (including the belief that sex is biolgical and immutable, and sex is distinct from gender-identity) are protected under the Equality Act (2010). It then goes on to lay out the implications for therapeutic practice. The commitments in this statement are to the time-honoured principles of traditional psychotherapeutic practice. Read it here.

Is this a sign that the tide is turning in the therapy field and – if you will forgive the pun – does this mean we will be able to turf out the gender idealogues who have wreaked havoc in our professions? Now that, at last, one professional body is coming to the fore to defend the interests of traditional therapeutic practice, we, at CTA, are starting to feel hopeful. We also note that this move is attracting positive media attention – see Jo Bartosch’s thoughtful piece here.