This law bans public school districts from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, or “in a manner that is not age-appropriate for students”-language that critics say could extend the ban to higher grade levels. In the state of Florida, the State Senate has just passed the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill. I would like to add the Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology to that list. Along with a chorus of medical professionals and clinicians at APsaA, the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Physicians, American Osteopathic Association, and the American Psychiatric Association, who oppose this policy. In the Texas case, those opposing these measures and offering solidarity to trans children and their families in Texas and beyond include The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas and Lambda Legal who have filed a lawsuit seeking to block this initiative from continuing.
There may be a diversity of opinion regarding many of these issues, but the major organizations representing Medical and Mental Health professionals are clear that efforts to restrict full access and respectful care to those who may discover themselves as trans-gendered is flagrantly unethical and clinically irresponsible. This parallels recent changes in Texas’ laws regarding access to abortion and the promotion of the idea that any citizen has the right and responsibility to report any circumstances which support those seeking abortion. The effort in Texas reached a new depth with the recent opinions put forth by the Texas Attorney General and the Governor to classify parents who allow their young children to pursue opportunities to transition as guilty of child abuse, and further seek to encourage that other citizens be encouraged to report them as abusers. These efforts of hostile discrimination are but one example of attempts across the nation at State and local level to undermine the progress that the Trans community has made in recent years. As is well known, there has been a concerted effort in the State of Texas to undermine the rights and freedoms of trans people. So much demands our attention, and I appreciate the efforts of many in SPPP who regularly bring forth issues of concern.Īt this point, I’d like to focus on two developments which have been somewhat local but have national implications. So much seems to be happening that we might release at least a statement every week, and still feel that other matters have been overlooked or given too little attention in the face of everything that has been happening.
My opinion is that we probably haven’t been as consistent in our effort to give voice to important concerns of many in the Division. In response to these matters, many of our members have taken on activist roles to not only care clinically for others but to defend the vulnerable and challenge social policies and political movements.įrom time to time, SPPP has released statements commenting on various events in the larger society and within our Professions, including joining with other organizations who share like-minded concerns. We might often feel flooded by negative affect or numb to the continuing catastrophe of life. No wonder so many of us are feeling tired, and more than a bit discouraged! We react to these events not only as individuals and citizens, but also as therapists who witness and absorb the trauma of our patients. Now we have an unimaginable act of violence with Russia’s assault on the Ukraine and yet another major refugee crisis. Acts of anti-semitism and anti-Islamism continue within our boarders and throughout the world. Many of us have been challenged, chastened, and empowered by the Black Lives Matter movement even as we have continued to see manifestations of white supremacy in all its forms with the assault on people of color. Since then, we’ve endured the cumulative trauma of the ebb and flow of variants along with political turmoil leading up to the events of January 6, 2021. Two years ago almost everything in our lives was shut-down or up-ended by the emergence of Covid-19.
Dear Members of the Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology: