Summary

Two clinicians at England's former national youth gender clinic (GIDS) looked back over 18 months of their own cases. They describe teenagers whose gender distress began in adolescence and who, after a longer assessment, no longer wanted puberty blockers (drugs that pause puberty) or hormones. They found 12 such young people out of 128 cases (9.4%). Most were girls, many were autistic, and many were self-harming or suicidal. Two case stories show how bullying, homophobia, family breakdown and distress about puberty came to be seen differently over time. The authors argue that assessment should allow unhurried exploration, while noting that many others do go on to medical treatment. It is a small case review by the treating clinicians, with no comparison group, no standard measurements and no long-term follow-up. It shows one path, but not how common it is or what caused the change.

Key findings

• Kaksi kirjoittajaa kävi läpi kaikki teinit (12-vuotiaat ja vanhemmat), joita he arvioivat GIDS:ssä lokakuun 2015 ja huhtikuun 2017 välillä: 156 tapausta, jotka karsittiin 128:aan joidenkin jätettyä pois.
• 128:sta 12:lla (9,4 %) sukupuoliahdistus alkoi teini-iässä, he pyysivät lääketieteellistä hoitoa alussa ja lakkasivat haluamasta sitä arvioinnin aikana.
• 12:sta seitsemän alkoi tuntea olonsa mukavaksi syntymäsukupuolensa kanssa, kun taas viisi identifioitui edelleen transiksi mutta ei enää halunnut hormoneja.
• Useimmat olivat tyttöjä (9 12:sta), iältään 12–16 (keskimäärin 14). 7:llä oli jo diagnosoitu autismi, 7 oli ajatellut itsemurhaa äskettäin, 7 oli satuttanut itseään ja 2 oli yrittänyt itsemurhaa äskettäin.
• Useimmat eivät olleet korjanneet sosiaalisesti (7 12:sta), ja useimmilla ei ollut lähettäjältä virallista sukupuolidysforiadiagnoosia (9 12:sta).
• Arvioinnit olivat pidempiä kuin klinikan tavallinen 3–6 tapaamista: keskimäärin 6,6 tapaamista 9,6 kuukauden aikana, enimmäkseen perheen kanssa.
• Kaksi tapaustarinaa, 14-vuotias autistinen poika ja 14-vuotias autistinen tyttö, jolla oli aiempi syömishäiriö, kuvaavat ahdistuksen ymmärtämistä koulukiusaamisen, homofobian, perheen hajoamisen ja murrosiän pelon kautta.
• Kirjoittajat vaativat tietojen täyttä tarkastelua koko klinikalla ja pitkäaikaista tutkimusta, ja sanovat lääketieteellisen hoidon auttavan edelleen joitakin nuoria.

Abstract

As the number of young people referred to specialist gender identity clinics in the western world increases, there is a need to examine ways of making sense of the range and diversity of their developmental pathways and outcomes. This article presents a joint case review of the authors' caseloads over an 18-month period, to identify and describe those young people who presented to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) with gender dysphoria (GD) emerging in adolescence, and who, during the course of assessment, ceased wishing to pursue medical (hormonal) interventions and/or who arrived at a different understanding of their embodied distress. From the 12 cases identified, 2 case vignettes are presented. Implications for the development of clinical practice, service delivery and research are considered.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the adolescents included in this review met criteria for GD and initially requested medical interventions to resolve their difficulties. Over the course of the psychosocial assessment, they came to understand their distress and its alleviation (at that particular point in time) differently and eventually chose not take a medical (hormonal) pathway and/or identified their gender identity as broadly aligned with their biological sex. Of course, this is not the case for many other young people presenting to the service and it is important to hold onto the multiplicity of possible outcomes. The study highlights the need for the psychosocial assessment to nurture a space in between the internal and external worlds of these young people. Such an assessment would need to be properly located in a developmental framework which takes seriously the inescapable in between-ness of adolescence and joins with young people and their families to broaden the narratives available to them, to make sense of gender-based distress.