A Conversation on Youth Gender Dysphoria: Ethical Dilemmas and Treatment Controversies

Join us for a conversation exploring the international landscape of youth gender dysphoria, focusing on the mental health field’s evolving approaches, ethical dilemmas, and treatment controversies. Amid growing global scrutiny of medical interventions like puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for youth, this webinar tackles the critical questions facing clinicians today. Given the remarkably weak evidence base and the risk of harm associated with medical interventions, what changes are now needed in the mental health field?

This conversation brings together professionals in the field of gender dysphoria, including both those who have been influential in the gender affirming model and clinicians who have challenged and critiqued it. Together, we’ll highlight the vital importance of fostering open, good-faith dialogue across diverse perspectives. The Cass Review underscored this need, emphasizing the value of rigorous professional discussion and the importance of engaging across differences of opinion to strengthen the field. Open dialogue is essential to refining treatment approaches and improving care for gender-questioning youth.

This webinar is a call for the mental health field to come together to confront pressing ethical questions and grapple with the complex challenges of supporting young people in distress. Join us as we unpack these issues, bridge divides, and work toward improving treatment approaches that prioritize both safety and efficacy.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify key ethical challenges and clinical controversies in the mental health treatment of gender dysphoria in young people, particularly in the context of medical interventions such as puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
• Analyze the current international landscape of youth gender dysphoria care, including evolving approaches, global policy shifts, and the implications of recent reviews such as the Cass Review.
• Evaluate the strengths and limitations of existing evidence regarding long-term outcomes of medical and psychological interventions, with an emphasis on prioritizing safety and efficacy in treatment.
• Explore strategies for clinicians to navigate complex clinical scenarios with compassion and professionalism while maintaining ethical integrity and centering the developmental needs of youth experiencing gender-related distress.

Jamison Green, Ph.D. is an author, educator, public speaker, and independent legal scholar. From 2014 to 2016, he served as president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Zander Keig is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), public speaker, and advocate known for his work with transgender veterans, social care, and mental health. Keig has been honored with several awards, including the 2020 National Social Worker of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers.

Dr. Laura Edwards-Leeper, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist who specializes in working with gender diverse and transgender children, adolescents, and adults. She was a founding psychologist of the Gender Management Service at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, the first US youth gender clinic. She served on the child and adolescent committees for WPATH SOC 8.

Paul Garcia-Ryan, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker based in New York City. He earned his Master of Social Work from Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work and received advanced graduate training in LGBT behavioral health at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. Paul has spoken and lectured both nationally and internationally on developmental approaches to youth gender dysphoria. He maintains a private practice, trains clinicians, and provides supervision in this specialized area of clinical care.

Sara Stockton, LMFT is a licensed marriage and family therapist, lecturer, researcher, and clinical supervisor. She has over 15 years of experience working with gender dysphoria, particularly with youth and their families. She co-authored and published one of the first mental health assessments in the United States used for youth experiencing gender distress in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. She continues to provide therapy, training, and supervision in this area.

Amber Ault, PhD is a writer and interdisciplinary social scientist who studied the history of homophobia and sexism in psychiatric diagnoses during a National Institute of Mental Health postdoctoral fellowship. Her clinical work focuses on supporting survivors of narcissistic abuse and her writing has been published in various academic journals including Social Work and The Sociological Quarterly. She is part of a growing number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans adults highlighting concerns about the medicalization of gender non-conforming children and adolescents.

Therapy First has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7505. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Therapy First is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. This webinar provide 1.5 hours of CE credits.