Gender exploratory therapy is a process of psychotherapy where the therapist does not solely act as a gender advisor or facilitator but instead attempts to create a neutral space for clients to explore their experiences and their motivations, as well as addressing any co-occurring mental health issues.

Gender exploratory therapy as an approach to treating gender dysphoria is not new. In fact, it is a standard psychotherapeutic process that empowers the client to deepen their self-understanding and gain confidence and ownership in their decision-making, whatever that decision might be.

Gender exploratory therapists “believe that individuals who are exploring gender identity or struggling with their biological sex should have access to therapists who will provide thoughtful care and tend to legitimate mental health concerns, without pushing an ideological or political agenda. Gender exploratory therapy is an approach that treats identity development as a complex, gradual process that can be influenced by a variety of factors and mental health issues” (Gender Exploratory Therapy Association).

Different people understand the term in different ways. Gender dysphoria is a subjective experience for which we have no objective test. The latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), defines it as a marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and assigned gender, of at least six months’ duration, and lists a number of criteria that must be met to receive a formal diagnosis. The DSM-5-TR is generally followed by healthcare professionals in North America, while much of the rest of the globe uses the World Health Organization (WHO)’s International Classification of Disease (ICD), which uses the term gender incongruence instead.

In the ICD 11, gender incongruence is not considered a mental health disorder and is defined as a marked and persistent incongruence between an individual´s experienced gender and the assigned sex, which often leads to a desire to ‘transition’, in order to live and be accepted as a person of the experienced gender, through hormonal treatment, surgery or other health care services to make the individual´s body align, as much as desired and to the extent possible, with the experienced gender… Gender variant behaviour and preferences alone are not a basis for assigning the diagnosis.

We are defining a detransitioner as someone who has experienced an identity shift and has discontinued or reversed a gender transition, medically, legally, and/or socially. A related term is desister, which often refers to an individual who has socially or legally transitioned but has not undergone medicalization and has decided to discontinue or reverse their transition. A person might discontinue/reverse a gender transition for a variety of reasons, including physical or mental health concerns, surgical complications, postoperative pain, unsupportive parents or romantic partners, employment discrimination, or difficulty accessing healthcare appointments. Not all who detransition regret their transition, but many do regret some or all aspects of the process. Some who detransition may later decide to retransition, i.e. resume their gender transition. Other individuals who have undergone a medical, legal or social transition may experience regret but choose not to detransition, for example in order to not further disrupt their life. While not technically detransitioners, these individuals may feel disillusioned with all or some of their transition and may seek mental health support.