Psychologists in revolt over Tavistock harms report

PSYCHOLOGISTS have publicly revolted against their national body in a row over it failing to acknowledge the Tavistock transgender clinic’s harms to children.

The British Psychological Society (BPS) said after the NHS gender identity service (GIDS) shut down last week that it “might be unsettling and upsetting” for staff.

In its statement, the BPS said families “might be concerned or distressed by this news” and offered support for “children who are exploring their gender identity”.

But it sparked a backlash from 14 leading psychologists, who wrote an open letter criticising the “profoundly inadequate” BPS response and demanding “redemption”.

They wrote that the BPS’s response “offers no acknowledgement of the severity and range of these problems, or of the harm done to some children and young people, there is no reflection on mistakes made or lessons to be learnt”.

NHS England shut down the GIDS service at the Tavistock centre in north London after the interim Cass Review found it was “not safe” for children.

Young people who believe that they are trans will now be seen in regional centres which will take a more “holistic” approach to treatment and study their mental health and medical history, after years of warnings that the Tavistock pushed puberty blocker drugs.

In their letter, published on the BPS website, the psychologists said “this is a sobering moment for psychology” and “we need to take seriously that damaging practice was enabled for so long”.

One of the experts to sign was Dr Kirsty Entwhistle, a whistleblower at the Leeds GIDS clinic who was labelled

‘Children have been badly let down. Rebuilding trust requires accountablity, honesty and reflection’

“transphobic” over her concerns that part of the evidence that a teenage girl needed puberty blockers was that she had liked Thomas the Tank Engine.

The open letter added: “We need to acknowledge what has happened and the risks that have been taken.

“Some children have been badly let down and may not be forgiving. Rebuilding trust requires accountability, honesty and reflection.”

Jon Sutton, managing editor of BPS, said in response that he “agrees that this is a moment for sobering reflection”.