“In Poland, there are currently no professional standards for helping children and adolescents with sex identity disorders. I say this by emphasizing this fact, which is why all psychologists and sexologists who issue various types of certificates have nothing to rely on and do it most often – this is my knowledge – base on information, which they have heard only from one source” – the psychologist Agnieszka Marianowicz-Szczygieł said during a conference on the problem of transition. The event was organized by the Life and Family Center.
“There is no scientific consensus in the world and there are at least three paths of help. Most often, however, you in schools and professionals are familiar with only one path – the affirmative path, which is the riskiest, least grounded, theoretically and empirically, the most invasive and with the possibility and risk of long-term effects” – Agnieszka Marianowicz-Szczygieł said.
She recalled that she and other Christian psychologists warned that a wave of transition was heading to Poland. “We have seen what is happening in the world” – she said, adding that “in the United States alone, between 2017 and 2021, over 18,000 teenagers started taking puberty blockers”. Based on official data, she indicated that there was also a sharp increase in the number of transition cases in Great Britain. “But not only here. Also in Sweden, Toronto, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Australia, and so in many countries around the world” – she enumerated.
“All this made me take a closer look at this matter. I started compiling this data. Over eight years we have seen an increase of up to approximately 20,000 percent in Sweden, in Australia – 12,000 percent, in other countries it is 1000-2000 percent. There is a drastic, very rapid increase everywhere” – she cited the data. The psychologist noted that “this overlaps very much with the emergence of mainstream social media”. “This is, of course, not proof in itself, but it is worth keeping in mind” – she added. “David Bell, the director of one of the largest clinics in Great Britain, when he retired, admitted that children were harmed there because they were pushed towards changing their sex. Many years ago, most kids came out of it, today 99 percent sustain the decision to change their sex” – reported Marianowicz-Szczygieł.
The psychologist emphasized that Christian psychologists offer a long path of in-depth researches, while the affirmative path is devoid of them and is often limited to one meeting and a hasty decision. “We have a passive approach and we have an approach that involves supporting identification consistent with biological sex” – she enumerated. “Why are parents and teachers only introduced to one path?” – she was wondering.
“In the holistic approach, i.e. the one we propose, what matters most is a comprehensive diagnosis. We check what is happening to the patient. If we want to implement some help, we need to know what we are basing it on. On the other hand, it is mainly a medical diagnosis, if it is” – said Marianowicz-Szczygieł. “We rely on interdisciplinarity, i.e. we invite specialists from several different fields, as it is a complex problem. However, in this affirmative model, even though it is loudly talked about interdisciplinarity, it is in fact a medicalization of the approach, i.e. mental and psychological problems are treated medical methods” – she pointed out. “The model we propose is a classic, cause-and-effect model. However, the affirmative model ignores causes altogether. There is no research into causes, no one cares about causes” – she said. “We propose a multi-level and integral approach, which means we look at the body in various aspects and the psyche. There is also room for including spirituality, if someone so wishes. We take into account the influencing factors” – she clarified.
“The average durability of gender dysphoria – based on a meta-analysis of 10 studies – is 18 percent. This means that over 80 percent of children and adolescents grow out of it naturally, provided they go through puberty. So there is no risk at the moment “no reliable data, no scientific method as to which child will be in which pool” – she emphasized, alarming that administering hormones in cases of gender dysphoria is nothing more than confirming the child in this disorder.
“You can’t change your sex. It’s not possible because every cell in our body has to carry genetic information about sexuality. However, you can neutralize your sex, or feminize or masculinize your appearance, artificially, i.e. with the help of surgical operations that have the risk of side effects on health, or hormonal interference, where hormones must be taken – if someone decides to take this path – for the rest of their life” – she concluded. In her opinion, the affirmation theory completely ignores over a hundred years of psychology’s achievements.
The psychologist warned that children very often fall victim to algorithms. “Kids often ask themselves: ‘Maybe I’m trans?’ and of course then the TikTok algorithm, which is sensitive to this, starts sending all the content on this topic, which actually confirms this self-diagnosis” – she analyzed the mechanisms.
Detailed recommendations and advice for parents of children with gender dysphoria can be found on the website of the Association of Christian Psychologists at the following link:
AW