A trainee therapist who was expelled from a his course for launching a public petition on safeguards in therapy for children with gender dysphoria, has reached a settlement with the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) in his claim against them – and the Council says that it recognises gender dysphoria can be treated with explorative therapy, rather than being affirmed.
James Esses, who has since become a high-profile commentator on the issues, says that while he is “not in a position to reveal the terms of settlement”, he was able to say that he is “extremely happy with them”.
UKCP have also published a formal statement, which recognises that the view that sex is both binary and immutable (that there are two genders and they are not fluid) is protected under the UK Equality Act.
It also confirms that the belief that children with gender dysphonia can be treated with explorative therapy, rather than being affirmed, is a valid one for a professional to hold.
‘UKCP recognises that gender-critical beliefs (that sex is both binary and immutable) are protected under the Equality Act 2010. UKCP also recognises the validity of the professional belief that children suffering from gender dysphoria should be treated with explorative therapy, rather than being affirmed towards irreversible and potentially damaging medical intervention,” they said in a statement.
“Psychotherapists and counsellors accredited by UKCP are fully entitled to hold such beliefs and any discrimination against them on this basis, including by UKCP-accredited training organisations, is unlawful,” they acknowledged.
Esses described the statement as “extremely important” and said he hoped that what happened to him would “never happen to another trainee therapist”.
He was a barrister who specialised in crime and criminal justice in the public sector, including tackling child sexual abuse and exploitation, before taking on a role as a volunteer counsellor with the charity Childline, before enrolling on a five-year Master’s programme at the Metanoia Institute.
He says that after he started a public petition calling on the government to safeguard essential, explorative therapy for children struggling with gender dysphoria as part of any ban and to recognise that most children with gender dysphoria will eventually settle into their bodies, he was “labelled a transphobe, a bigot”.
“I’m neither of those things. Nobody wanted to engage in discussion – they simply wanted to attack me,” he wrote.
Esses said he was then “summarily expelled” from his course on the basis of “bringing the institute and profession ‘into disrepute’” – and that he was “provided with no right of appeal, and not a single opportunity to defend myself or even have a conversation.”
He launched a legal challenge – and now says that the statement from the UKCP “sends a clear message to therapeutic training course providers that if they discriminate against their students for believing in biological reality or child safeguarding, they will be held accountable.
“With that in mind, although my case against UKCP has concluded, I will be continuing my litigation against the Metanoia Institute for expelling me from my Masters’ degree after I spoke out about concerns regarding gender ideology and child safeguarding,” he said today.
“My legal team will now be asking the Employment Tribunal to list a pre-trial hearing, at which the dates and directions for trial will be fixed,” he said in an update to his crowd funding page.
Esses previously told GB News that he believed gender ideology “has taken over all areas of society” – that it has “infiltrated schools”, and was impacting on women’s rights, leaving people’s livelihoods threatened if they simply said ‘women cannot have a penis’.
'Things have gone too far, gender ideology that has taken over all areas of society!'
Co-ordinator, Declaration for Biological Reality, James Esses, discusses his views on gender ideology.
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