© John Minchillo / APMinneapolis protestors outside of a burning Arby’s, Friday, May 29, 2020.
The way we train therapists is not only useless, but it can also exacerbate mental illness. I learned the true purpose of my graduate program in clinical mental health counseling early on. During my first semester, my professor for my Counseling the Culturally Diverse class said that our primary objective as therapists is to become political activists so that we can "burn it all to the ground."
That objective might seem bizarre to outsiders, but in my program, questioning it would look morally and intellectually suspect. The theory goes that all mental anguish is caused by oppression, and if we can dismantle the systems of oppression then we can relieve the distress... except that isn't the real goal. In my program and in academia more broadly, social justice is the objective, not simply a means to an end.
My professors frequently say that gender affirming care is the only appropriate way to treat gender confused minors. Never mind that most of them will probably grow out of these feelings. Never mind the damning evidence in the WPATH files or the Cass Report. Gender affirming care is the goal because it represents social justice. The broken bodies of detransitioners are considered a small price to pay for such a noble vision.
