Welcome to GETA
Gender Exploratory Therapy Association
A psychological approach to psychological distress.
We are here because those who are exploring gender identity or struggling with their biological sex should have access to therapists who will provide thoughtful care without pushing an ideological or political agenda.
We believe that skilled, ethical exploratory therapy is appropriate for those with gender dysphoria, their families, and detransitioners.
The purest form of listening is to listen without memory or desire.
~Wilfred Bion
Start Here
The Gender Exploratory Therapy Association (GETA) exists because we see a great need arising from the current narrow framing of Gender and Gender Identity in the field of mental health and in the culture more broadly.
Clinicians
GETA is an association of therapists who believe that individuals experiencing gender-related concerns ought to be treated using a whole person approach.
Clients & Families
If you or someone you care about is suffering from gender-related distress, we offer compassionate and evidence-based resources.
Detransitioners
We offer resources and information for those who have reversed a social or medical gender transition, including referrals for therapists experienced in working with detransitioners.
Join GETA
Membership of GETA doesn’t just give you the opportunity to be listed as a gender exploratory therapist.
It also allows you to join our community of practitioners, where you can share resources, exchange ideas and build relationships.
Featured Webinar
What Happened at the Tavistock? A Conversation with Dr. Anna Hutchinson
Friday, March 31, 11:00 – 12:30 pm est
The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), based at the Tavistock and Portman Trust in North London, was set up initially to provide — for the most part — talking therapies to young people who were questioning their gender identity. But in the last decade GIDS has referred more than a thousand children, some as young as nine years old, for medication to block their puberty. In the same period, the number of young people seeking GIDS’s help exploded, increasing twenty-five-fold. The profile of the patients changed too: from largely pre-pubescent boys to mostly adolescent girls, who were often contending with other difficulties.
Why had the patients changed so dramatically? Were all these distressed young people best served by taking puberty blockers and then cross-sex hormones, which cause irreversible changes to the body? While some young people appeared to thrive after taking the blocker, many seemed to become worse. Was there enough clinical evidence to justify such profound medical interventions in the lives of young people who had so much else to contend with?
Dr. Anna Hutchinson started work at GIDS in 2013. In her years at the service, she had a front row seat to the unfolding situation that resulted in the planned closure of the center this year. Dr. Hutchinson figures prominently in Hannah Barnes’ recent book “Time to Think: The Inside Story of the Collapse of the Tavistock’s Gender Services for Children.” She will join GETA’s Lisa Marchiano to discuss the implications of what happened at the Tavistock for good clinical practice.
A recording will be available to GETA members after the event. We cannot make to recording available to non-GETA members.
GETA provides a range of trainings for mental health clinicians working with young people who are questioning their identity.
Learn your theories as well as you can, but put them aside when you touch the miracle of the living soul. Not theories, but your own creative individuality alone must decide.
~C. G. Jung
Latest Articles
GETA Submits a Comment on Title IX Rule Making
Earlier this year, the US Department of Education sought to clarify the 1972 statute known as Title IX that stipulates that educational institutions receiving Federal funding need to eliminate discrimination of the basis of sex. The proposed rules broaden the scope of...
The Teenage Brain
By Sallie Baxendale. Neuroscience: Decision Making and The Teenage Brain Although the legal system assigns the arbitrary age of 18 years to the onset of adulthood, sophisticated neuroimaging studies demonstrate that the human brain doesn’t actually stop developing...
Find a Therapist
Our goal is to help prospective clients connect with therapists who agree with the tenets of the GETA membership statement.
You can find out more about individual practices by clicking on the profile.
Latest podcast from GENDER: A WIDER LENS
KEEP UP TO DATE
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on future offerings.