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- ⚠️ Colorado’s counseling law could limit therapists’ ability to discuss gender identity with minors.
- 🧠 Adolescence is a key brain development time for figuring out who you are.
- 💊 Gender-affirming therapy can reduce suicide risk by up to 60% in trans youth.
- ⚖️ Free speech rights in therapy are being challenged as state laws restrict what therapists can say.
- 📉 When therapists censor themselves, it can stop them from giving good care that focuses on the client.
Therapy at the Meeting Point of Law and Identity
Colorado’s new counseling law is making people talk about a big question: where do we stop protecting young people and start limiting therapy? This law tries to stop certain kinds of therapy about gender identity for kids. But it worries therapists, brain scientists, and legal experts. The talk is about free speech in therapy, what’s right and wrong in gender-affirming therapy, and the real problems therapists have when laws get in the way of their work.
Understanding the Colorado Counseling Law
Colorado’s counseling law was made to protect LGBTQ+ youth. It does this by banning conversion therapy. This therapy uses harmful methods to try and change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Major groups like the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association have spoken out against this therapy. They say it causes mental harm, shame, and can even make people more likely to try to kill themselves.
But people worry because the law defines “conversion therapy” very broadly. It clearly stops forceful attempts to make someone not identify as LGBTQ+. But the law also stops any therapy that “seeks to change” a young person’s gender identity or how they show it. Critics say this unclear wording mixes up simply talking about gender identity with wrong conversion practices.
Because of this, therapists might not ask good questions, like, “What does gender mean to you?” or “How has your understanding of yourself changed?” If the law isn’t clear, therapists might skip important talks completely. They worry about legal trouble or losing their license.
What Therapists Can Say
Therapists have to find a careful middle ground. Good ethics mean therapists must help clients get better without hurting them or pushing their own ideas. This includes doing good, not doing harm, and respecting a client’s choices. But when laws control which therapy talks are “safe,” it gets harder to practice ethically.
In therapy, talking is not just a casual chat. It is the main tool therapists use. Words build trust, help people understand things, and lead to healing. Limiting what can be said, even if the intentions are good, can break this key part of therapy. If therapists are worried about whether their words are legal, they can’t create a safe, open space.
Studies in clinical psychology show that clients get the best results when therapy allows for questions, looking into things, and thinking deeply. These are important for development, especially when working with teenagers. When a law makes therapists afraid to discuss tough subjects, it might cause more harm than good, even if it claims to protect people.
Client Choice and Informed Consent
A main part of good therapy is informed consent. This means clients, especially young ones, have the right to look into who they are without being told what to think. Gender-affirming therapy works best when it makes a place where young people can safely ask questions, look at possibilities, and then decide who they are. It doesn’t work well with set rules.
This is even more important when working with teenagers. Their brains and feelings are still developing. Teenagers naturally like to check things out. How they see themselves can change a lot over time. Figuring out who you are takes time and happens bit by bit. It can’t happen truly if outside forces, like laws or therapy, decide ahead of time what identities are okay.
Therapy that just says “yes” without letting a person question themselves might accidentally stop the very independence it wants to keep safe. So, we need to clearly separate stopping harmful conversion practices from stopping the normal process of figuring out who you are.
Brain Science and Gender Identity Growth
Brain science confirms that the teenage years are a very important time for figuring out who you are. During puberty, the brain changes a lot. About 50-60% of the brain’s connections that handle feelings, how we see ourselves, and social cues are rebuilt (American Psychological Association, 2021).
This brain development time comes from many things working together: hormones, how the brain can change, our genes, what’s around us, and social stories. It’s also a time of brain differences, meaning people might grow in very different ways emotionally and mentally.
In simple terms, even therapies meant to do good must be carefully made for each person. A strict, one-size-fits-all gender-affirming therapy that just follows legal rules might completely miss individual differences. On the other hand, strict bans on talking about options could also remove important details and limit therapy too much.
Therapists who use brain science in their care know that development doesn’t happen in a straight line. It’s unique to each person and often includes a time of questioning. Teenagers get the most help from a balanced approach, not just being told “yes” or “no” without thought.
The Science Behind Gender-Affirming Care
Gender-affirming therapy is not just an idea; it’s a way of working backed by a lot of clinical research. Studies always show that when a person’s gender identity is supported, LGBTQ+ youth have better mental health. For instance, a 2020 study in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that transgender youth who had access to puberty blockers were 60% less likely to think about suicide (Turban et al., 2020).
Besides puberty blockers, gender-affirming therapy also means honoring feelings, making a safe social and emotional space, and giving tools to look into things that fit their age. These ways of working have been linked to less depression, anxiety, and self-harm.
It is important to know that support doesn’t stop people from checking things out. Not all clients in gender-affirming therapy immediately go through physical changes. Instead, the process is made for each person, it’s flexible, and often involves many types of experts. This can include mental health workers, doctors for hormones, teachers, and family members.
Critics often go wrong when they think support means telling someone what to do. A therapist who supports a person doesn’t force an identity. They open a door and give a safe space to walk through it, or to turn around.
Oversight and Ethics: The Problems
When laws get involved in therapy, there’s always a risk. We need some checks to stop clear harm. But too many rules can take away therapy’s power to adjust. Too much legal control makes a place where therapists must care more about following rules than about their own gut feelings as a therapist.
Therapists say they feel more and more stressed. They worry about how they write notes, what words they use, and if they are doing the right thing in therapy. This hurts the relationship with the client and also affects the therapists’ own mental well-being and happiness at work.
Dr. Laura Gazzaniga puts this problem clearly: “When you make clinicians afraid to talk, you’re not just stopping harmful stories. You could also be getting rid of small details, doubts, and real growth” (Gazzaniga, 2023). Her words show a rising concern in mental health. People worry that being careful about harm is turning into a fear of being honest.
Keeping Things Private and Losing Trust
In therapy, keeping things private is not just a legal rule. It’s a key reason therapy works and helps people change. Clients open up not just because they are asked. They do it because they feel safe. That safety depends on trusting that the therapist can ask true questions and give true feedback.
When clients think therapists are more controlled by law than by care or ethics, they start to lose trust. This is very true for teenagers. They are already dealing with rules, making their own choices, and fitting in with friends. If they feel like things are being hidden, many will pull away.
Also, therapists now have to deal with a changing situation. New rules might make them report talks that, before, would have stayed private in sessions. These changes could break the important bond between client and therapist.
Laws Different in Each State
The laws about therapy are very different from state to state. Right now, over 20 states have banned conversion therapy for minors. These include states like California, New York, and Washington. These laws often match what the APA and AMA recommend.
On the other hand, states like Florida and Texas have made laws that limit gender-affirming care, stop schools from talking about gender identity, or punish therapists who help minors with gender changes.
For therapists doing therapy remotely—which became very common after COVID—these different laws create many problems. A therapist with a Colorado license might be working legally where they are. But they could accidentally break another state’s rule when helping a client far away.
This mix of laws causes confusion about what’s legal and what’s right. Should a therapist follow the rules of their own state, the client’s state, or what they feel is right as a therapist?
Free Speech in Therapy: Law vs. Real Life
The First Amendment protects free speech. But does that protection apply to therapists during a session? The legal question isn’t settled yet. In some states, therapists have fought against limits on what they can say while treating clients. They say these limits are like censorship and go against the constitution.
However, therapists might have the right to speak freely as people. But their license makes them follow ethical rules that sometimes don’t match legal orders. Simply put, free speech in therapy is not total. It is looked at through the rules of their job.
This conflict between basic freedoms and job duties makes it hard for many therapists. They have to figure out what is right, and also what they can legally defend, during a time when political disagreements are very strong.
Therapists: More Than Yes-Saying Machines
Good therapy is all about the relationship. It is built on understanding, asking questions, and connecting with feelings, not just following steps. Good therapists are not just “yes-saying” machines. They are trained experts who can handle mixed feelings, help with mental and emotional growth, and respect a person’s choices.
When a client looks into their gender, they might feel doubt, sadness, excitement, fear, joy, or all these things. The therapist’s job is to be with them, not to push them forward or stop them.
Laws that tell therapists to use only two options—support or deny—cut short the deep process of figuring things out. Gender identity, like any part of who we are, involves telling our story, changing, facing problems, and getting better. Only a flexible way of working can truly help with this.
Finding a Fair Way Forward
Both therapists and lawmakers want to help young people. But that help needs to be based on facts. We need guidelines, backed by proof and checked by therapists, that show the difference between looking into things ethically and being forced to do something harmful.
Lawmakers should get help from groups of experts. These groups could include psychologists who work with teenagers, brain scientists, and people from the community. This way, laws can be made with care and detail, not just simple sayings. And therapists must keep learning about the best ways to do gender-affirming therapy and about brain development science.
This is not about being against rules. It is about making sure laws truly fit with good therapy and how complicated people are.
What Lawmakers and Mental Health Supporters Can Do
- Ask therapists and scientists for advice when making mental health laws.
- Pay for training based on research about gender identity growth and therapy methods.
- Make a clear difference between support and telling someone what to do in laws.
- Encourage community learning so families and clients know what therapy can and cannot do.
- Keep private information safe and let therapists make their own choices, all while making sure clients are safe.
Good rules must show what life is truly like for therapists and what clients really need mentally. Trying to make laws about therapy should be based on facts and understanding, not just beliefs.
We Need Care, Not Just Rules
Therapy is not always neat. It is real, honest, and about finding out who you are. Making laws that force therapy into an “either/or” way of thinking could take away its goal and its power to heal. The Colorado counseling law means well, but it makes us ask big questions about how we as a society see mental health care.
Let’s use knowledge instead of fear. Let’s ask questions instead of just believing ideas. Let’s push for therapy that supports people, not just certain viewpoints. Therapy should make room for people to grow into who they are, not just put a label on them. Only then can we make mental health care that is both caring and good at what it does.
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Citations
American Psychological Association. (2021). Gender identity and youth: Current concepts. APA Policy Brief.
Gazzaniga, L. (2023). Ethics in Practice: Regulation and Resistance in State Mental Health Laws. Forensic Psychology Review.
Turban, J. L., King, D., Reisner, S. L., & Keuroghlian, A. S. (2020). Pubertal Suppression for Transgender Youth and Risk of Suicidal Ideation. Journal of Adolescent Health, 66(6), 684–690. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.12.002
