Goals and Purposes of Psychological Interventions
By Ann E. Gillies, Ph.D.
August 9th, 2021
The Canadian Psychological Association states that “a psychologist studies how we think, feel and behave from a scientific viewpoint and applies this knowledge to help people understand, explain and change their behaviour[1].” When dealing with sexual orientation or gender confusion issues, psychological intervention generally follows the same template. Yet, if Bill C-6 passes, the therapist dealing with those issues will be hindered in his/her efforts to help clients change behavior. They risk being accused of performing “conversion therapy”. What the Bill calls “conversions therapy” is what therapists normally do in any other type of psychological interventions.
Psychotherapy[2], often known as Talk Therapy, uses insight, problem-solving, reframing of thoughts and changes in behavior to bring about increased levels of mental health.
Therapists are trained to recognize patterns of disordered thinking and then assess thoughts and identify symptoms of mental and/or emotional disturbance. The therapist can then work with the client to restore his/her emotional health, hence allowing him to build resilience and develop better interpersonal skills.
Disordered thinking or cognitive distortions are thoughts that are inaccurate and destructive. Such thoughts have been implicated in gender dysphoria and in the maintenance of body dysmorphic disorders. Take for instance the patterns of disordered thinking that manifested in Susan’s life:
It seemed like Susan viewed her life, and in particular her 70 pounds body, through a distorted ‘funhouse mirror’. Susan would look in her mirror and see bulges and bumps that were not there. No one else could see these bulges, only Susan could. According to her, it was because people could not ‘see clearly’, so she started to hide her thoughts and feelings from others.
Susan’s negative and unrealistic thought pattern went like this:
“I’m fat, I look horrendous”
“I always overeat, and that’s why I’m fat.”
Those with body dysmorphic disorders such as anorexia, have a false perception of reality. Over time, they come to find it almost impossible to view themselves in a normal way.
In Susan’s case, the therapist would have to use his training to challenge the client’s self-perception and help her understand and accept reality or at least alleviate the distress she’s experiencing.
Under Bill C-6, the therapist would be bound to using an affirmative approach in his treatment. Affirmation therapy is just as it sounds. One must ‘affirm’ an individual’s perceptions. This type of affirmative care forces therapists to uncritically accept the client’s claims about their sexual orientation and gender identity. Rather than evaluating those claims and even challenging them, when necessary, the therapist would only serve to approve the client’s self-diagnostic and prescribe drugs. According to this type of therapy, questioning the client’s claims is tantamount to questioning his/her perceived identity, hence dehumanizing them.
A therapist looks for the underlying causes that gave rise to the distress the client is experiencing. To that end, he/she may use many different techniques. The most important one is perhaps identifying lived experiences. By allowing the client to ‘tell their story’, the care provider begins to build relationship with the individual and gets a glimpse into early childhood attachment experiences, traumas and relationships with others, which have worked in unison to set the stage for either emotional regulation or distress.
With this in mind, let’s hear about Susan’s childhood experience and see if we can have a better understanding of the circumstances that caused her to view herself this way.
Susan’s dad, Charlie, had just return from war. He, along with his wife Elva, and their four children were settling back into life together. On this bright October day, Charlie took two of his sons, Elmer (12) and Ronnie (10), to harvest apples at the military site close by. While there, Elmer found a brightly coloured mortar shell lying on the ground. Charlie told him to carefully put it back where he found it, but being a curious twelve-year-old, Elmer went back and hid the shell in the bottom of a barrel of apples.
As Elva peeled apples in the kitchen, her son Elmer retrieved the pretty red mortar shell. He then grabbed a knife and started to pry open the bomb. “I can still hear myself screaming whenever I think of it. I looked down and Ronnie was lying in pieces on the floor, Elva stated”.
What happened in that split second was fixed in Elva’s mind for the rest of her life and her daughter Susan began a downward spiral into anorexia!
Trauma changes everything. Two sons died that day; the rest of the family experienced the repercussions of untreated trauma. Susan was the first to engage in counselling.
The psychotherapist, not knowing the family history at this point, begins to perceive areas of faulty thinking, such as the tendency to self-blame and deny reality regarding Susan’s weight.
Susan’s (14) deep dive into distorted thinking, began immediately after the tragedy when she encountered food. Her mind says, “food brings disaster” (she had fixated on the apple mom had been peeling) rather than face the reality of the bomb exploding. In fact, she didn’t even discuss the tragedy during the first session.
As the therapist enabled her to discuss her fears:
“If I eat, my world will explode. I must control my body’s desire for food.”
In the same way, people struggling with same sex attraction or gender identity should have the opportunity to investigate the causes that gave rise to their desires. Many LGBTQ individuals have come to feel this way as the result of sexual abuse or other traumatic experiences. Others simply no longer find this lifestyle fulfilling. These are just a few reasons that would prompt someone to decide that they no longer want to experience these attractions and seek counselling to reach this end.
It is well known by scientists that sexual orientation is not genetically based and does naturally change[3]. Bill C-6 will prevent the therapist from offering such care to minors who freely desire it. In the case of adults, the bill would not only prevent the therapist from receiving any financial compensation for his services or advertising them. It would also criminalize such care. The therapist would be guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years.
The client should be free to decide which treatment is more appropriate for his situation, and the therapist should not be encumbered when providing the care. With this Bill, the government is attempting to prevent a situation where someone would be coerced into changing his sexual orientation. In so doing, they are perpetuating the distress of those who want to change.
Anorexia is one of many conditions where disordered thoughts create a false perception of reality and chaotic behaviour. Likewise, those who believe they are born in the wrong body can’t objectively substantiate this claim. There is no scientific basis upon which we can say that the sex someone is born with is the wrong one. Unless the therapist has bought into a view of gender that is completely divorced from biological reality, it is scientifically unwarranted to conclude that a client is of a different gender merely on the basis of the client’s feelings.
What we now encounter are psychologists who no longer do the job they were trained for – the hard work of psychotherapy. Instead, they refer such children to ‘gender affirming clinics’ to begin a process of aligning their bodies to comply with their gender ideology. Instead of treating the underlying psychological issues and challenging the unrealities, therapists are now instructed to ‘process’ these children by affirming their feelings. This malpractice is resulting in child abuse.
When it comes to the issue of gender identity, the therapist needs to be allowed to use his professional judgement to see if it is of value to put a child on hormonal treatment for the rest of his days. Therapists should use wise judgement, based on sound child development models, to choose to help the client learn how to appreciate the body he was born with.
What happened to the Canadian Psychological Association criteria for psychotherapy that “studies how we think, feel and behave from a scientific viewpoint and applies this knowledge to help people understand, explain and change their behaviour[4].”?
[1] What is a Psychologist? – Canadian Psychological Association (cpa.ca)
[2] Psychotherapy
[3] The Canadian Psychological Association also recognizes that individuals differ in the fluidity of
their sexual attractions across the lifespan (Rust, 1993; Spitzer, 2003; Diamond, 2007), but does
not view such naturally occurring fluidity as supporting arguments in favour of conversion or
reparative therapies.
[4] What is a Psychologist? – Canadian Psychological Association (cpa.ca)
August 9th, 2021
The Canadian Psychological Association states that “a psychologist studies how we think, feel and behave from a scientific viewpoint and applies this knowledge to help people understand, explain and change their behaviour[1].” When dealing with sexual orientation or gender confusion issues, psychological intervention generally follows the same template. Yet, if Bill C-6 passes, the therapist dealing with those issues will be hindered in his/her efforts to help clients change behavior. They risk being accused of performing “conversion therapy”. What the Bill calls “conversions therapy” is what therapists normally do in any other type of psychological interventions.
Psychotherapy[2], often known as Talk Therapy, uses insight, problem-solving, reframing of thoughts and changes in behavior to bring about increased levels of mental health.
Therapists are trained to recognize patterns of disordered thinking and then assess thoughts and identify symptoms of mental and/or emotional disturbance. The therapist can then work with the client to restore his/her emotional health, hence allowing him to build resilience and develop better interpersonal skills.
Disordered thinking or cognitive distortions are thoughts that are inaccurate and destructive. Such thoughts have been implicated in gender dysphoria and in the maintenance of body dysmorphic disorders. Take for instance the patterns of disordered thinking that manifested in Susan’s life:
It seemed like Susan viewed her life, and in particular her 70 pounds body, through a distorted ‘funhouse mirror’. Susan would look in her mirror and see bulges and bumps that were not there. No one else could see these bulges, only Susan could. According to her, it was because people could not ‘see clearly’, so she started to hide her thoughts and feelings from others.
Susan’s negative and unrealistic thought pattern went like this:
“I’m fat, I look horrendous”
“I always overeat, and that’s why I’m fat.”
Those with body dysmorphic disorders such as anorexia, have a false perception of reality. Over time, they come to find it almost impossible to view themselves in a normal way.
In Susan’s case, the therapist would have to use his training to challenge the client’s self-perception and help her understand and accept reality or at least alleviate the distress she’s experiencing.
Under Bill C-6, the therapist would be bound to using an affirmative approach in his treatment. Affirmation therapy is just as it sounds. One must ‘affirm’ an individual’s perceptions. This type of affirmative care forces therapists to uncritically accept the client’s claims about their sexual orientation and gender identity. Rather than evaluating those claims and even challenging them, when necessary, the therapist would only serve to approve the client’s self-diagnostic and prescribe drugs. According to this type of therapy, questioning the client’s claims is tantamount to questioning his/her perceived identity, hence dehumanizing them.
A therapist looks for the underlying causes that gave rise to the distress the client is experiencing. To that end, he/she may use many different techniques. The most important one is perhaps identifying lived experiences. By allowing the client to ‘tell their story’, the care provider begins to build relationship with the individual and gets a glimpse into early childhood attachment experiences, traumas and relationships with others, which have worked in unison to set the stage for either emotional regulation or distress.
With this in mind, let’s hear about Susan’s childhood experience and see if we can have a better understanding of the circumstances that caused her to view herself this way.
Susan’s dad, Charlie, had just return from war. He, along with his wife Elva, and their four children were settling back into life together. On this bright October day, Charlie took two of his sons, Elmer (12) and Ronnie (10), to harvest apples at the military site close by. While there, Elmer found a brightly coloured mortar shell lying on the ground. Charlie told him to carefully put it back where he found it, but being a curious twelve-year-old, Elmer went back and hid the shell in the bottom of a barrel of apples.
As Elva peeled apples in the kitchen, her son Elmer retrieved the pretty red mortar shell. He then grabbed a knife and started to pry open the bomb. “I can still hear myself screaming whenever I think of it. I looked down and Ronnie was lying in pieces on the floor, Elva stated”.
What happened in that split second was fixed in Elva’s mind for the rest of her life and her daughter Susan began a downward spiral into anorexia!
Trauma changes everything. Two sons died that day; the rest of the family experienced the repercussions of untreated trauma. Susan was the first to engage in counselling.
The psychotherapist, not knowing the family history at this point, begins to perceive areas of faulty thinking, such as the tendency to self-blame and deny reality regarding Susan’s weight.
Susan’s (14) deep dive into distorted thinking, began immediately after the tragedy when she encountered food. Her mind says, “food brings disaster” (she had fixated on the apple mom had been peeling) rather than face the reality of the bomb exploding. In fact, she didn’t even discuss the tragedy during the first session.
As the therapist enabled her to discuss her fears:
“If I eat, my world will explode. I must control my body’s desire for food.”
In the same way, people struggling with same sex attraction or gender identity should have the opportunity to investigate the causes that gave rise to their desires. Many LGBTQ individuals have come to feel this way as the result of sexual abuse or other traumatic experiences. Others simply no longer find this lifestyle fulfilling. These are just a few reasons that would prompt someone to decide that they no longer want to experience these attractions and seek counselling to reach this end.
It is well known by scientists that sexual orientation is not genetically based and does naturally change[3]. Bill C-6 will prevent the therapist from offering such care to minors who freely desire it. In the case of adults, the bill would not only prevent the therapist from receiving any financial compensation for his services or advertising them. It would also criminalize such care. The therapist would be guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years.
The client should be free to decide which treatment is more appropriate for his situation, and the therapist should not be encumbered when providing the care. With this Bill, the government is attempting to prevent a situation where someone would be coerced into changing his sexual orientation. In so doing, they are perpetuating the distress of those who want to change.
Anorexia is one of many conditions where disordered thoughts create a false perception of reality and chaotic behaviour. Likewise, those who believe they are born in the wrong body can’t objectively substantiate this claim. There is no scientific basis upon which we can say that the sex someone is born with is the wrong one. Unless the therapist has bought into a view of gender that is completely divorced from biological reality, it is scientifically unwarranted to conclude that a client is of a different gender merely on the basis of the client’s feelings.
What we now encounter are psychologists who no longer do the job they were trained for – the hard work of psychotherapy. Instead, they refer such children to ‘gender affirming clinics’ to begin a process of aligning their bodies to comply with their gender ideology. Instead of treating the underlying psychological issues and challenging the unrealities, therapists are now instructed to ‘process’ these children by affirming their feelings. This malpractice is resulting in child abuse.
When it comes to the issue of gender identity, the therapist needs to be allowed to use his professional judgement to see if it is of value to put a child on hormonal treatment for the rest of his days. Therapists should use wise judgement, based on sound child development models, to choose to help the client learn how to appreciate the body he was born with.
What happened to the Canadian Psychological Association criteria for psychotherapy that “studies how we think, feel and behave from a scientific viewpoint and applies this knowledge to help people understand, explain and change their behaviour[4].”?
[1] What is a Psychologist? – Canadian Psychological Association (cpa.ca)
[2] Psychotherapy
[3] The Canadian Psychological Association also recognizes that individuals differ in the fluidity of
their sexual attractions across the lifespan (Rust, 1993; Spitzer, 2003; Diamond, 2007), but does
not view such naturally occurring fluidity as supporting arguments in favour of conversion or
reparative therapies.
[4] What is a Psychologist? – Canadian Psychological Association (cpa.ca)
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