Healthcare with a Heart

Heartfelt Healthcare for Trans Individuals

Susie Green explores the compassionate realm of trans healthcare, reflecting on her journey and the pressing need for inclusive, medically overseen support systems that champion resilience, authenticity, and societal acceptance.

In this episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast, Joanne Lockwood engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Susie Green about the challenges and triumphs in providing compassionate healthcare for trans individuals. Susie shares her insights on the evolving landscape of trans healthcare, the societal impacts of current anti-trans rhetoric, and the pivotal role that support systems play in the lives of trans youth. Joanne and Susie also examine the damaging effects of misinformation and discrimination on trans individuals and their families, shedding light on the pressing need for informed, empathetic care.

Susie Green is co-founder and co-director of Anne Health, an organisation dedicated to offering accessible and compassionate healthcare for trans people of all ages. Her journey into this crucial work began when her daughter, at the age of four, expressed her true gender identity. Susie’s firsthand experiences as a mother of a trans child fuelled her passion for advocacy and inclusive healthcare. Known for her resilience and dedication, Susie has been a prominent figure in the trans community for over two decades, previously serving as CEO of Mermaids, a charity that supports transgender youth and their families. Her expertise and personal experiences make her an invaluable advocate for trans rights and healthcare.

Joanne and Susie delve into the stark realities trans individuals face, from the lack of informed healthcare professionals to the toxic narratives perpetuated by mainstream media. They discuss the critical importance of puberty blockers as a means to provide trans youth with space to explore their identities safely, countering the harmful misconceptions that often surround this treatment. Susie emphasises that denying access to such care is not a neutral act—it has severe and sometimes fatal consequences for trans youth.

The episode concludes with Susie sharing the mission of Anne Health and its commitment to offering safe, personalised care for trans individuals. Despite the hate and legal challenges faced, Susie remains steadfast in her commitment to support and uplift the trans community. Joanne and Susie urge listeners to foster understanding, hold space for those struggling, and continue advocating for inclusive healthcare practices.

A key takeaway from this episode is the urgent need for empathy and informed care in supporting trans individuals. Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of the systemic challenges faced by the trans community and the importance of access to safe, affirming healthcare. This episode serves as a powerful call to action to challenge the status quo and advocate for a more inclusive and compassionate society.

 

Published: 10.04.2025 Recorded: 30.01.2025 Duration: 1:03:28

 

• AI Extracts and Interpretations
• The Inclusion Bites Podcast #155: Healthcare with a Heart
• Other Links
• seechangehappen.co.uk SEE Change Happen: The Inclusive Culture Experts
• Inclusion Bites Podcast on YouTube

Clips and Timestamps

Rising Above Negativity: “The things that they say about me, they don’t bother me because they’re not true.”
— Susie Green [00:20:14 → 00:20:19]

Viral Comeback: “But seriously, does my bum look big in this?”
— Susie Green [00:23:24 → 00:23:26]

Challenges Faced by Trans Families in America: “Because access to their health care for their kids looks like it’s gonna be shut down. And clinics are acting in advance of the order actually coming into law as well and turning peep you know, turning young people away from clinic appointments for blockers and stuff.”
— Susie Green [00:26:21 → 00:26:39]

Bias in Healthcare Reports: “If you did a trial on autism, having members of, you know, of the group that were doing that review, you know, would having somebody who actually was autistic on that, would that be biased? No, it wouldn’t. It’s only trans people.”
— Susie Green [00:31:34 → 00:31:47]

Blatant Discrimination in Healthcare: “I heard the reports of the GP surgeries who just took all of their trans patients off their books and went, we’re not we’re not supporting you anymore.”
— Susie Green [00:35:39 → 00:36:54]

Misconceptions in Healthcare: “I went to work for Gender GP and sort of quickly realized that it wasn’t for me because what I saw, what I thought was within Gender GP didn’t come to pass, and it was clear that they weren’t providing personalized, appropriately, medically overseen care.”
— Susie Green [00:40:50 → 00:41:10]

The Struggle for Affordable and Quality Care: “There’s got to be something better than this. There’s got to be something that is actually as affordable as we can make it whilst also ensuring that there is, like, the quality of care with the proper medical oversight.”
— Susie Green [00:41:20 → 00:41:32]

Puberty Blocker Ban: “We came out because we wanted people to know that there was an alternative and that, actually, we were working towards providing a safe and legal route for people to be able to access puberty blockers so that the criminalizing of parents, who just wanna help their kids would, that we would find a way to to help them to do that legally.”
— Susie Green [00:43:36 → 00:43:58]

Legal Oversight in Health Care Legislation: “We commissioned him and his team to look at what we were doing, the model that we were we were doing, and and to give us, like, their legal oversight into the best ways to ensure that we were as robust as possible.”
— Susie Green [00:45:35 → 00:45:48]

“Navigating Medical Bureaucracy for My Child”: “I had to take her to Boston in America to be seen by Dr. Norman Spack at the Boston Children’s Hospital. And that feeling of being alone and being isolated and doing something that’s going against what the NHS was telling me because I was told that she had to go through a full now puberty to be sure that that’s not what she wanted. And I was like, that’s insane. That’s insane.”
— Susie Green [00:49:17 → 00:49:44]

Definition of Terms Used

Puberty Blockers

• Definition: Puberty blockers are medications used to delay the onset of puberty in children experiencing gender dysphoria, giving them more time to explore their gender identity before undergoing irreversible physical changes.
• Relevance: This intervention is crucial in trans healthcare as it helps alleviate psychological distress by preventing the development of unwanted secondary sexual characteristics.
• Examples: A child assigned male at birth who identifies as female may take puberty blockers to prevent the deepening of their voice and growth of facial hair.
• Related Terms: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), Gender Dysphoria, Transgender Youth, Endocrinology Common Misconceptions: Puberty blockers are often wrongly assumed to cause permanent infertility or irreversible effects, whereas they are intended to provide a reversible pause in physical development.

Conversion Practices

• Definition: Conversion practices refer to attempts to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity through psychological or spiritual interventions.
• Relevance: These practices are widely discredited and considered unethical, ineffective, and harmful, leading to mental health issues and trauma for those subjected to them.
• Examples: Therapies aimed at making a gay person straight or a transgender person conform to their sex assigned at birth.
• Related Terms: Conversion Therapy, Reparative Therapy, Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE) Common Misconceptions: Some believe conversion practices can be successful in changing one’s gender identity or sexual orientation, despite extensive evidence to the contrary.

Transadjacent

• Definition: Transadjacent refers to individuals who do not personally identify as transgender but are closely connected to the trans community, often through advocacy or personal relationships.
• Relevance: Allies who are transadjacent play a vital role in supporting, advocating, and amplifying the voices of trans individuals.
• Examples: A parent of a transgender child or a friend deeply involved in trans rights advocacy.
• Related Terms: Ally, LGBTQ+ Advocate, Cisgender, Transgender Support Common Misconceptions: Being transadjacent does not mean one is questioning their own gender identity; it denotes support and solidarity with the trans community.

Cisgender Outcome

• Definition: A cisgender outcome is when individuals identify and continue to identify with the sex they were assigned at birth, without feeling any incongruence between their gender identity and their physical body.
• Relevance: In discussions about trans healthcare, promoting a cisgender outcome often means prioritising interventions aimed at affirming the sex assigned at birth, which is controversial and considered unethical by many advocates.
• Examples: Encouraging a trans child to accept their birth sex rather than exploring gender-affirming treatments.
• Related Terms: Gender Dysphoria, Transgender, Gender Identity, Conversion Practices Common Misconceptions: Some believe that achieving a cisgender outcome eliminates gender dysphoria, but this often exacerbates the distress experienced by trans individuals.

Neurodiversity

• Definition: Neurodiversity is the concept that neurological differences, such as autism and ADHD, are natural variations in the human genome, and should be respected and valued as any other human variation.
• Relevance: Recognising neurodiversity in the context of gender identity acknowledges that diverse ways of thinking and being can influence one’s understanding and expression of gender.
• Examples: A person with autism who also identifies as Non-binary may experience their gender identity in unique ways due to their neurological differences.
• Related Terms: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Neurodivergent, Neurotypical Common Misconceptions: Neurodiversity is often misunderstood as a medical deficit or disorder, rather than a natural and valuable difference in cognitive functioning.

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Brought to you by your host

Joanne Lockwood SEE Change Happen

A huge thank you to our wonderful guest

Susie Green Anne Health