Mental health professionals are gathering for a gender identity conference which will instruct them on how to assess, diagnose, and write letters for transgender clients in a single one-hour session so that they can access surgery and hormones. Some clinicians already offering the rapid services were even willing to provide the letters to minors.
The Do Something Identity(ies) Conference is set to be held on May 13 and features over a dozen speakers discussing a range of topics including decolonization, kink and polyamory, transphobia, neo-pronouns, and more.
The conference is being organized by Van Ethan Levy, whose biography states: “Van (they / elle) is a queer, non-binary, trans, socialized as female, nBPOC (not Black Person of Color), who is autistic and has dynamic disabilities amongst many more historically excluded identities.” Levy is a licensed family and clinical counsellor in the state of California, and has specializations including working with children and adolescents.
In addition to being a single-day event, the conference can also count towards over 7 credit hours utilized for the requirement of continuing education needed by mental health professionals. The conference is co-sponsored by R. Cassidy Seminars, which is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. It is also recognized in multiple states, including New York and California, for various mental health practitioner professional bodies and associations.
In the press release issued for the conference, Levy states that it is the “Inaugural Conference For Mental Health Professionals to Learn From Trans/Non Binary Folx [on] How to Provide Affirming Care.” One of the key components throughout the various panels and presentations it to ‘end gatekeeping,’ defined by Levy as “when someone in a position of power prevents someone from having access to something that others have.”
Levy has been a leading advocate for the end of ‘gatekeeping’ gender identity services. Since 2021, Levy has populated a spreadsheet of professionals willing to provide letters of approval for ‘gender affirming’ interventions within one hour.
Affiliated with the Do Something Identity(ies) Conference’s site, an entire page is dedicated to clinicians who can provide letters for hormones and surgery in a single session. Organized by state, Levy’s spreadsheet offers the names and contact information of over one hundred licensed medical and mental health service providers across the United States who have committed to what is effectively ‘no questions asked’ gender affirmation.
At least two California-based providers listed in the spreadsheet were willing to offer letters at no cost.
Perhaps most disturbingly, the gatekeeping-free guarantee seems to extend to minors.
One parent who wishes to remain anonymous provided Reduxx with a number of e-mail exchanges she had with providers from the spreadsheet conducted over the past year. Most of which were explicitly willing to help the parent’s 16-year-old child access the letters required for surgery and hormones in a single session with no pre-existing relationship or follow-ups needed.
Only one provider told the parent they did not work with minors, but was quick to provide a list of clinicians willing to write the letter that did. Another stated they were unsure if the assessment of a minor might take up to two sessions rather than just one.
In addition to the conference and spreadsheet, Levy also offers a $100 course on ‘affirming letter writing.’ The 50-minute workshop, open to licensed therapy professionals, provides instruction on how to “write a letter for clients so that the client can gain access to affirming care.”
Helena Kerschner says she was “disturbed” by the conference and its stated goals of limiting the questions and consultations provided to those seeking ‘gender affirming’ interventions.
Kerschner is a leading voice amongst detransitioners — a growing community of people who ceased or wish to reverse gender transitions. She also serves as an advisor for GenSpect, an international alliance of parent groups, professionals, and detransitioners seeking to challenge gender ideology and draw attention to its impact.
“My own experience is that I was given hormones without even a letter in less than an hour. But the thing that’s often said is ‘oh, that’s not happening,'” Kerschner says, continuing that the narrative that trans-identified people often have to overcome massive hurdles to get ‘gender affirming’ care stands in stark contrast of the evidence to the contrary. Kerschner notes that many detransitioners did not experience robust questioning prior to making medical decisions they later regretted.
“It’s a deceptive dynamic. You’ll have people who very well know that they’re quickly changing the standards so that people are met with even less and less [resistance] and given complete access to these interventions… those very same people will be saying that these things never happen.”
Kerschner says the incidents of providers offering free letters demonstrates the motive is often ideological, rather than monetary.
“Often times you have people, understandably, pointing to financial interest as one of the motivators of this phenomenon, I do think that is the case for many providers,” Kerschner says, continuing, “But I also think that something like [free letters] points to that this is also a belief system … You have providers who really and truly believe they are doing something important and good, to the point that they’re willing to do it for free.”
Kerschner dismisses Levy’s crusade against ‘gatekeeping’ as “ridiculous,” noting that even non-medical industries are regulated to protect consumers.
“If it’s going to be a medical treatment, it should be held to standards of ethical medicine.”
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