UPDATE 25
7 March 2026
Dear Supporter
Welcome to the latest Update from Save Mental Health. It’s a packed edition this month. Here’s an overview:
A reminder to complete our cancellation survey before the deadline on 31st March 2026
Lucy Beney’s recent interview on the mental health crisis amongst children on British Thought Leaders’ podcast
Professor Uta Frith’s declaration that she no longer believes autism is a spectrum
More controversy over the Pathways puberty blocker trial as a doctor is ‘recused’ in a row over ‘impartiality’
Latest news on action to stop the puberty blocker trial
A fascinating article by our guest writer Xandra H asking, ‘What exactly is consciousness?’
Cancellation Survey
Our cancellation survey is running until 31st March 2026. If you’re over 18 and have been cancelled, please complete the survey and help us find out what effects cancellation has on mental health and how people cope. PLEASE CLICK HERE. If you know anyone else who might be interested, please forward them the link. Thank you!
How We’ve Created a Mental Health Crisis Amongst Our Children: Lucy Beney
Lucy Beney was recently interviewed on the British Thought Leaders’ podcast. It is well worth watching and can be viewed here. During the discussion Lucy calls for a conversation “about the kind of society that we want” and asks, “What do we actually value?” The discussion is wide-ranging and compelling and highly recommended.
“The Spectrum Has Collapsed”
In an insightful interview with Helen Amass in Tes magazine, cognitive scientist and developmental psychologist Uta Frith explains why she no longer believes autism is a spectrum. Professor Frith, emeritus professor in cognitive development at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, is a leading researcher into autism. She explains that autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder, present from birth, and associated with communication difficulties and restricted behaviour.
In recent times, due in part to cultural factors and to efforts to be more inclusive of untypical cases, the spectrum has widened and, in the words of Professor Frith, “has come to its collapse”. She describes two large subgroups, comprising one diagnosed in early childhood, and another diagnosed much later. The latter group is made up of adolescents, many of them young women, who do not have intellectual impairment and can communicate verbally and non-verbally, but might feel “highly anxious in social situations”. While this second group is increasing at an alarming rate, the first group is only moderately increasing and there has been no increase in autistic children with intellectual disability. Although claims have been made that girls may be ‘masking’ symptoms of autism, Professor Frith comments that “The masking idea has no scientific basis” and that “I expect we could say we are all masking, all the time, trying to adapt to our society’s norms”.
Kathleen Stock, writing in Unherd about Professor Frith’s interview, talks about the feminisation of autism and asks: “If someone is mentally agile enough, both to notice her own social deficits and then seamlessly compensate for them, why are we treating this as autism at all?” Noting the hostility to Professor Frith’s comments, Stock states: “Her basic point, obvious and unobjectionable, is that it is no good incrementally expanding the category of dogs to the point where it starts to include cats, because doing so won’t end well for either”. Food for thought.
Doctor removed from Puberty Blockers Trial
King’s College London’s notorious Pathways clinical trial of puberty blockers has become embroiled in yet more controversy. Sonia Sodha, columnist and broadcaster explains in her Substack that Professor Jacob George, the chief medical and scientific officer of the Medical and Healthcare Products Regulation Authority (MHRA) has been “recused” from involvement with the trial “following the identification of social media posts made prior to his appointment”. Professor George had criticised what he called the “well-meaning idiocy” of those in the NHS denying “basic biological fact” that gender is set at birth. Yet none of his X posts referred to the Pathways clinical trial.
Sodha’s detailed article points out that there are doctors and clinicians who “have a vested interest in the kinds of questions that were posed in Professor George’s letter on behalf of the MHRA not being asked”. While there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing, there is also “no evidence that any of his decisions lacked impartiality”. This, as Sodha rightly points out, “raises huge ethical and legal questions for the MHRA” as “the only conceivable justification for ending any involvement he [George] would normally have as a senior MHRA expert is based on perception”. The article concludes with a reminder that “It was ideological activism that led in the first place to distressed children being prescribed unevidenced and potentially harmful drugs” and warns the MHRA to be “on high alert to the risk
Latest News on Action to Stop the Puberty Blockers’ Trial
The puberty blockers trial will be debated in the House of Commons on Monday 23rd March. This is thanks to James Esses’ petition which received over 145,000 signatures. The Women’s Rights Network, Sex Matters and LGB Alliance have organised a lobby day on Tuesday 10th March when there will be calls for the Health Secretary to intervene and stop the trial. Meanwhile, the Bayswater Support Group, Keira Bell and James Esses are bringing a judicial review against the UK government to stop the trial from proceeding. James has just reported on X that: “The Court has granted an 8 week stay to allow concerns about the trial to be considered. Crucially, it has been confirmed that child recruitment will not commence before proceedings in the High Court have been determined (by end of July)” James also delivered a speech at the Houses of Parliament recently, expressing his concerns about the trial. The transcript can be read here.
What exactly is consciousness?
Welcome back to our guest speaker Xandra H with her latest article on consciousness. Have you ever wondered what consciousness actually is? Is it simply a byproduct of the biological workings of the brain or does it have a spiritual dimension? Xandra explores different ways of understanding consciousness and asks whether any of them provide a satisfactory answer. A fascinating read.
RECOMMENDATION
As war rages in the Middle East and International Women’s Day fast approaches on 8th March, it’s timely to reflect on the experiences of women living in Iran since the formation of the Islamic Republic in 1979. In her compelling book The Wind in My Hair Masih Alinejad tells the story of her life in Iran and the brutality of the regime’s subjugation of women. Masih currently lives in exile in the US where she founded My Stealthy Freedom, a campaign against compulsory hijab. She advocates for women’s rights and is recognised as one of the most influential women in Iran. You can follow Masih’s campaign on X here or on Facebook here.
If you have any difficulty viewing this Update or any pages on the website, please contact us with details including your device and web browser (e.g. Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox, etc,). Thank you.