Doctorate in Clinical Psychology: Main Research Portfolio

: 1) What is the experience of gender minority stress and resilience in binary and non-binary transgender young people? A Systematic Review and Meta-synthesis; 2) Patient and provider experiences of virtual pain management programmes established in the North Bristol NHS Trust during the COVID-19 pandemic; 3) The narratives of people registered female at birth who started a medical gender transition and later detransitioned.

Abstract

The visibility and presence of people who have detransitioned following a gender transition is growing. There is little existing research on the needs and experiences of this group. This study used thematic narrative analysis of six interviews with participants registered female at birth, aged 21-32 years, who had detransitioned after having at least one gender-affirming medical or surgical treatment (GAMSTs) as part of a gender transition in the UK. All participants were non-heterosexual. Four had been diagnosed with autism or ADHD, and all had experienced struggles with their mental health or gender dysphoria. All had taken testosterone, four had double mastectomies. Four narrative themes were developed to capture how they made sense of their detransition. These were the limits of medical transition, the longer-term health implications, the social limits of transition, and detransition, it’s a process. Participants realised that changing their body had limited capacity to resolve distress, sometimes increasing this, or highlighting social differences, meaning they re-evaluated their position. They were concerned about the long-term health implications of taking testosterone. Detransition was also highlighted as a complex, deeply personal, and individual, ongoing process. Participants discussed a range of emotional, practical, and other support needs, largely unmet by healthcare or other services. These findings highlight the importance of ensuring young people have realistic expectations as part of a holistic assessment process for medical or surgical gender-affirming care. Second, it highlights the need for long-term health outcome research, addressing the impact of testosterone on female anatomy and health specifically. Further implications for clinical practice with those considering transition or detransition were discussed.

Keywords: Gender Dysphoria, Transgender, Gender Affirmative Care, Detransition, Qualitative, Narrative Analysis.

Date of Award	22 Sept 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Kate Cooper (Supervisor), Catherine Butler (Supervisor) & Vuokko Wallace (Supervisor)