Watchful Waiting for questioning kids works in psychotherapy - Everything else is malpractice
Watchful Waiting is a term I first read on the American College of Pediatricians website to describe the recommended treatment for children who present with gender confusion. I immediately identified with this method as it reflected how I work with all adolescents for practically every condition. It refers to creating a containing and supportive psychotherapy space that allows kids to be seen while not rushing to react to whatever (impulsive) crisis they might be expressing at the moment they enter psychotherapy . We “watch” and “wait” while applying active listening and empathy. At the same time, we gather important contextual information to make a diagnosis.
Any other approach is malpractice.
If we do not offer containment and support we do not create a healing opportunity.
If we immediately “affirm” the content of their presentation without assessing context and history we have not done due diligence.
However, a rabid group of mentally ill activists demands we psychotherapists commit malpractice in the name of socio-politics. Now, some former patients are suing their psychotherapists for failing to do their due diligence. This is not surprising. These psychotherapists did indeed commit malpractice by failing to do a proper assessment.
As with the application of the harmful COVID 19 treatment protocols, professionals accepted conventional wisdom and peer pressure when they should have applied better clinical judgment. They joined with delusion and/or a socially-sanctioned contaminant because that was the in thing to do. They did harm by not questioning.
It is time we psychotherapists challenge immoral conversion therapy laws and apply watchful waiting in order to protect and heal our patients.