Service Evaluation: Increasing Transparency in Decision‐Making and Acknowledging Professional's Feelings When Working With Gender Dysphoria in Children's Mental Health Services

ABSTRACT There is a lack of evidence‐based guidelines for supporting young people with gender dysphoria and intellectual disability in the United Kingdom. The NHS is moving towards more care being provided by non‐specialist gender services and it is unclear what this may feel like for professionals in these services. As part of a service evaluation, six clinicians from a multidisciplinary team offering assessment and treatment to a child with an intellectual disability also experiencing gender‐related distress were interviewed on the care that they provided. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Three main themes, with two sub‐themes each, were identified—language around gender (social perception of gender and young person's understanding), untangling the problem (joint sense‐making and a client‐led approach) and not feeling the expert (not enough knowledge and concerns about getting it right). The paper provides an insight into how one team experienced and navigated gender‐related treatment decisions during a time of uncertainty. Suggestions are made based on what professionals felt was needed to improve care for children with an intellectual disability, which remains a neglected area of gender research.