Cabán asks about mental health harms when care is delayed or denied
Cabán describes a secondary mental health crisis driven by fear and care disruption. Taylor Brown says untreated gender dysphoria worsens over time and cites a Nature study finding a 72% increase in suicide attempts in states with anti-trans laws.
And I mean, again, I know that
at large, the TGNBI community is on high alert and
understandably cautious about what they're divulging even to these resources in this moment in time, and that's because of the current political environment and the attacks from the federal level.
To that end, the political environment has created what many clinicians describe as a secondary mental health crisis.
Separate from any underlying gender dysphoria that's driven by fear, uncertainty, the experience of having care disrupted or threatened.
And we hit the pieces around, you know, it's not a person's gender identity that is...
The cause of mental health stress or distress, but the treatment from others that they receive around that.
And then now we're layering on top these other fears because of the political environment.
Can you talk about the evidence show, what evidence?
shows about mental health outcomes when care is delayed, when it's interrupted, when it's denied, compared to when it is accessible.
And is DOHMH communicating that to providers and families?
And very quickly before you answer, just want to acknowledge that we have been joined by Councilmember Brooks-Powers.
Okay, thanks.
Thank you.
I'm going to hand it over to Director Brown to kick us off.
Thank you for the question, Council Member.
We know that undiagnosed, untreated, and undertreated gender dysphoria often becomes more severe over time, leading to further exacerbation of both physical and mental health disparities and risk with age.
This is similar to any chronic health condition that is left untreated or when care is interrupted.
A recent study published in Nature highlights the devastating impacts of anti-trans legislation in states,
finding that these bans, a collection of laws that restrict rights, including access to gender-affirming health care, have led to a 72% increase in suicide attempts among transgender and non-binary people compared to states without such legislation.
These findings are also supported by an article analyzing several more recent studies published by the American Psychological Association as well.