Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Health Professions
 
Board
Board of Counseling
 
chapter
Regulations Governing the Practice of Professional Counseling [18 VAC 115 ‑ 20]
Action Unprofessional conduct - conversion therapy
Stage NOIRA
Comment Period Ended on 8/7/2019
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8/7/19  5:55 pm
Commenter: Allison W.

Do not broadly ban all therapy approaches.
 

The rate of gender desistance is high in virtually all studies of small children desiring to switch biological sex.  The cause of this must be addressed, such as a child becoming an older sibling and wanting to become the same sex as the younger sibling to gain attention, or more seriously, identify if a child's behavior is the result of sexual abuse.  The child should be treated as an individual, not encouraged to blindly embrace a delusion which contradicts the reality of fundamental genetic biology.  As such, each case should be handled individually.  The healing in therapy is to love oneself for oneself, not to become a new or altered person worthy of love.

"Gender fluidity" is a new term which is untested.  It has never been so widely accepted in the history of this country.  There is no proven or likely outcome of a patient from the time of acceptance of a new sex, to the point where the child grows to middle age, or parents his or her own children.

CommentID: 75488