UPDATE 29

11 July 2026

Dear Supporter,

Welcome to the latest Update from Save Mental Health. It’s a packed issue this month. Here are the topics we’re covering:

Conversion Practices Draft Bill

The government finally published its long-awaited Conversion Practices Draft Bill,on 25th June. 

With regard to sexuality, all of what falls under the definitions of “conversion practices” is already illegal.  There is little reliable evidence that “conversion practices” are currently an issue in the UK.*

Primary concern centres on the effects of the Bill on exploratory conversations around gender, particularly for parents, teachers, youth workers, religious leaders and even organisations which simply take a gender-critical stance.  While seemingly there are exemptions for health workers and therapists, these are not at all watertight, depending as they do on therapists not falling “far below the standards reasonably expected of a person in their position”.  When the membership bodies setting those standards are already signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy on which the Bill is based, this protection may be very short-lived.  Professional malpractice could easily be redefined.  There are already those in positions of responsibility who believe that holding gender-critical beliefs is incompatible with practising as a therapist.

For the purposes of the Bill, “causing the individual to have or not have, or to believe that they have or do not have, a transgender identity or a particular transgender identity”, comes under the definition of conversion practice.  The use of “psychological or emotional pressure” would be outlawed, despite this being highly subjective. The vast majority of gender-confused young people regard any challenge at all as emotionally damaging, however necessary it might be. 

*Peter Jenkins of Thoughtful Therapists has written a very useful guide to the background of the bill,UK Conversion Practices Bill” Queering the Family Courts and Upending Child Safeguarding?

Cruel to be Kind

Lucy Beney responds to the publication of the Conversion Practices Draft Bill in her latest article Cruel to be Kind.‍ ‍She opens by stating that “Lying to children should never be enshrined in law”. Lucy goes on to highlight aspects of the Bill that relate to ‘gender identity’ and explains the danger these pose.  She also cites several composite case studies, that arise in real life, and require a responsible adult to take a lead, but which might, if this Bill becomes law, leave that adult open to criminal proceedings.  This is an important article that reveals the inherent weaknesses in the Bill, its failure to take into account safeguarding and child protection, and the risks it posesto anyone who wishes to help young people who are gender questioning but do not accept ‘highly contested gender ideology’.

Puberty Blocker Trial to be Restarted

On 19th June, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced that new protocols have been agreed, which will permit the government-sponsored puberty blocker trial to go ahead once again.  Girls as young as 11 and boys as young as 12 will now be able to participate.  The MHRA had previously suggested that the minimum age for participant should be 14, and acknowledged “potentially significant and, as yet, unquantified risk of long-term biological harms is present to participants”. 

The first children are likely to be recruited in August, to take account of ongoing legal proceedings.  Therapist and campaigner James Esses and detransitioner Keira Bell have brought a Judicial Review of the planned trial, over concerns that it is unethical, unnecessary and children cannot give fully informed consent to treatment which is likely to affect future fertility and sexual function.  Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has also said that she will try to bring about a vote in Parliament to stop the trial.

Dr Hilary Cass, meanwhile, who once spoke candidly of the “shaky foundations” underpinning gender medicine, and the need for comprehensive psycho-social interventions to alleviate distress in gender-confused children, now believes the trial is “vital” – but apparently primarily to avoid children accessing powerful drugs from elsewhere.

CitzenGO is crowdfunding for the Judicial Review. If you can contribute, any donation would be very welcome and can be made here.

Amnesty International and ‘Anti-Rights’

Amnesty International has just released a report entitled A growing threat: the anti-rights movement in the UK*. The report examines the “anti-rights ecosystem”.  Despite saying that human rights belong to everyone, conveniently, the term ‘anti-rights’ is adopted highly selectively. It entirely overlooks the reality that the rights of different groups can be in conflict. The report principally targets organisations which campaign against gender ideology and the ‘transition’ of children and young people, and groups seeking to restrict abortion rights.  Of course, there is no mention here of the rights of parents and others to protect children from a pernicious and destructive ideology – and from their own misguided but ‘over valued beliefs’ – or indeed the rights of the unborn. 

The report specifically highlights the UK’s failure to address “the legal gender recognition framework, the absence of a ban on conversion practices, the treatment of LGBT+ asylum seekers, and the implications for the Supreme Court judgement”.

In a breath-taking reversal of truth, the report states that it is “anti-rights actors” who seek a society in which men and women have fixed and distinct roles, when it is in fact gender ideologues who have been suggesting that children may have been born in ‘the wrong body’, simply on the grounds of their current feelings and interests.

Among other suggestions, this report recommends “reviewing the awarding of charitable status to organisations that advocate for the removal of human rights protections, target minority groups, or promote disinformation and harmful practices”.  Gender-critical beliefs are regarded clearly as antithetical to human rights.

Genspect, Thoughtful Therapists, Therapy First, SEGM and CAN-SG are named among “anti-rights organisations” on the grounds of ‘conversion practices’, while the various SEEN groups, the Bayswater Support Group, Protect and Teach, the Safe Schools Alliance, the LGB Alliance, Transgender Trend, Sex Matters and ScotPAG are listed among gender-critical “anti-rights” groups.

*In response to public criticism and legal threats from affected groups, an Amnesty International spokesperson confirmed the briefing was pulled for an internal review.

Welfare System ‘Not Fit for Purpose’

The Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment: Interim Report was published on 9th July.

Among the key themes emerging is a lack of consistency in the understanding of the purpose of PIP, and also “what independent living means”.  Some respondents to the call-for-evidence feel that the system actually discourages independent living, and penalises coping strategies, as people fear losing necessary financial support. Claimants are less likely to look for work, for a variety of reasons.  Receipt of PIP also “plays an important role in passporting to other entitlements”, including the Motability scheme, which currently supports the purchase of 20% of all new cars in the UK.

Others noted the increase in disability prevalence, particularly with regard to mental health conditions, neurodivergence and “energy-limiting illnesses” – the fastest growing category of claimant. Only 2% of respondents, however, felt that the increased prevalence of mental health conditions, particularly among young people, can be attributed to “exaggeration or over-diagnosis”.

The report is being compiled in conjunction with “disabled people and stakeholders”. As many disability charities actively campaign for increased benefits and wider definitions of ‘disability’, this could call into question the study’s objectivity.  The PIP has, however, been found “no longer fit for purpose”, while the spiralling cost of benefit payments is undermining confidence generally in the welfare state.

In response, Helen Whateley, the shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said that she would like to see a return to face-to-face assessments, and an end to sickness benefits issued for anxiety, low mood and ADHD, conditions which proliferate particularly among young people.  She believes that it is currently very hard to “stop someone getting PIPs for mild mental health and neurodiversity, despite a lack of clinical evidence to support their claim”.  A plan to address the shortcomings is scheduled to be published in September.

Concept Creep and the Mental Health Crisis

On the subject of welfare and the growing number of people with mental health problems, psychologist Nick Haslam has published a timely article in which he argues that “rising attention to harm, coupled with the pervasive influence of the mental health industry, has led to the concept of mental health and illness becoming increasingly expansive”.  He explains that the process of ‘concept creep’ leads some to adopt ‘diagnostic identities’ and to ‘over-pathologize experience and behaviour’. Haslam proposes that this tends to “increase the number of people who are identified as having mental health problems and seek treatment for them”. It may also “worsen mental health through a range of self-fulfilling and iatrogenic processes”.  This article is well worth reading and proposes steps for policymakers on how to respond.

Critical social justice and its cognitive distortions: Cantu & Gallo

InJune’s update we mentioned Arnold Cantú’s latest article with co-author Nathan Gallo: ‘Critical social justice and its cognitive distortions: Diagnosing the liberal’s poor mental health’. This is a subject to close to our hearts here at Save Mental Health and it is now available online here.  Thanks to Arnold for sharing this with us and our supporters.

RECOMMENDATION

Katharine Birbalsingh, educator and Head of Michaela School, who is known as Britain’s strictest Headmistress, gave a compelling speech at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference. She criticised the oppressor/oppressed narrative that is now taught in schools, arguing that it has taught children to hate their own country.  Her speech is both powerful and persuasive and so we have chosen it as our recommendation for this month’s update. You can watch it here. Katharine is also launching a podcast in August called ‘Strictly Education’ which may be of interest to supporters.

Our correspondent Lucy Beney was invited to visit Michaela School recently and will be writing an account of her experiences for Save Mental Health in a future Update. Watch out for that!  Until next time.