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Statement From the ABCT Board of Directors Regarding Texas Governor’s Order to Investigate Gender-Affirming Care as Child Abuse

New & Noteworthy

“Abbott’s actions antithetical to science; could cost lives”

 

 

NEW YORK – The following is a statement by the Board of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies condemning Governor Abbott’s order defining gender-affirmative care as child abuse.

 

“Governor Abbott’s order is dangerous for youth and their families and antithetical to science. Transgender individuals are at increased risk for anxiety, depression, and suicide resulting from discrimination. Research shows that gender-affirmative care helps reduce these mental health disparities.

 

Abbot’s order interferes with the ability of medical and mental health professionals to provide evidence-based care to youth and their families and is a dangerous invasion into the relationship between healthcare providers and those we serve. The Board of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies opposes this action and others like it that prioritize politics over science and human rights in the delivery of healthcare.”

 

For more information, contact Mary Jane Eimer, Executive Director at [email protected]

 

ABCT released the statement above to the wire.  ABCT’s Board received invaluable support from the Sexual and Gender Minority SIG and many of the SIG’s leaders and members. We appreciate and thank them for their input.

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What Is Cognitive Behavior Therapy?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a type of treatment that is based firmly on research findings.  It places emphasis on changing your cognitions (thoughts) or behaviors (actions) in order to effect change in how you feel. These approaches help people in achieving specific changes or goals.

Changes or goals might involve:

A way of acting: like smoking less or being more outgoing;
A way of feeling: like helping a person to be less scared, less depressed, or less anxious;
A way of thinking: like learning to problem-solve or get rid of self-defeating thoughts;
A way of dealing with physical or medical problems: like reducing back pain or helping a person stick to a doctor’s suggestions.

Cognitive behavioral therapists usually focus more on the current situation and its solution, rather than the past. They concentrate on a person’s views and beliefs about their life. CBT is an effective treatment for individuals, parents, children, couples, and families. The goal of CBT is to help people improve and gain more control over their lives by changing behaviors that don’t work well to ones that do.

How to Get Help

If you are looking for help, either for yourself or someone else, you may be tempted to call someone who advertises in a local publication or who comes up from a search of the Internet. You may, or may not, find a competent therapist in this manner. It is wise to check on the credentials of a psychotherapist. It is expected that competent therapists hold advanced academic degrees. They should be listed as members of professional organizations, such as the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies or the American Psychological Association. Of course, they should be licensed to practice in your state. You can find competent specialists who are affiliated with local universities or mental health facilities or who are listed on the websites of professional organizations. You may, of course, visit our website (www.abct.org) and click on “Find a CBT Therapist”

The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) is an interdisciplinary organization committed to the advancement of a scientific approach to the understanding and amelioration of problems of the human condition. These aims are achieved through the investigation and application of behavioral, cognitive, and other evidence-based principles to assessment, prevention, and treatment.