Rethinking Youth Gender Medicine
London
5/6 July 2026
Day one | Aetiologies, evidence, research, and ethics
Registration from 8.30 am
9.30 am Welcoming speech: Baroness Dianne Hayter
Introduction Dr Louise Irvine, co-chair CAN-SG
History and aetiologies
- Chair: Dr Stella Kingett
- A brief history of gender medicine and the rise of the Dutch protocol (Zhenya Abbruzzese)
- How the availability of puberty suppression transformed the social, cultural, and medical landscape (Prof. Michael Biggs)
- Diagnoses in gender medicine (Prof Alex Byrne)
Evidence, uncertainty, and risk
- Chair: Dr Louise Irvine
- Diagnostic, aetiological and prognostic uncertainty in youth gender medicine (Dr. Alison Clayton)
- Puberty blockers and the adolescent brain (Prof. Sallie Baxendale)
- Breaking the Mold: How the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Decided to Put Evidence First (Scot Bradley Glasberg, M.D., former chair of American Plastic Surgery Association)
- Uncertainty and risk in gender treatments in adults: failings of the UK Levy review. (Dr Louise Irvine)
Research
- Chair: Prof Alice Sullivan
- Barriers to research in gender medicine (Prof Alice Sullivan)
- Pathways puberty blocker trial and why it does not comply with UK research regulations Dr. Sinéad Helyar)
- Is there equipoise for interventional trials? (Dr. Ray Zhang)
- Adverse effects of hormonal interventions in gender medicine (Dr. Hannah Ryan)
Ethics
- Chair: Zhenya Abbruzzese
- When evidence is uncertain how do we decide? (Zhenya Abbruzzese)
- Evidence, Ethics, and Youth Gender Dysphoria (Prof. Moti Gorin)
- Parent perspective: decision-making on a child’s behalf when evidence is uncertain
Day two | Social and cultural contexts, clinical perspectives
Begins 9.30 am
Social and cultural influences
- Chair Dr David Pilgrim
- Social transition: what’s the harm? (Stephanie Davies-Arai)
- Beliefs about medical transition and the body in online trans spaces (Sarah Mittermaier)
- Detransition pathways: going back but moving forward (Michael Kerr)
Child and adolescent mental health
- Chair: Dr Aileen O’Brien
- Psychotherapeutic work for embodied distress in adolescence (Anastassis Spiliadis)
- How can healthcare providers support young people questioning their gender identity, without fear – recent research on psychiatrists and psychologists (Prof. Céline Masson)
Clinical perspectives
- Chair: Dr David Bell
- Psychotherapeutic work with gender-distressed youth (Dr. Anna Hutchinson and Dr Celia Sadie)
- Helping parents manage their child’s new gender identity (Dr. Stephen Levine)
- Investigating the link between autism spectrum disorders and gender distress (Dr. Katie Alcock)
- The role of physiotherapy in managing the unwanted effects of gender interventions, with particular focus on pelvic health conditions.(Elaine Miller)
Looking to the future panel discussion: How can we support children, families and young adults?
Chair: Sue Evans “How can we support children, families and young adults, going forward?” Panel discussion with Stephanie Davies-Arai, Dr. Anna Hutchinson, Dr Hannah Ryan, Dr. Stephen Levine, Michael Kerr and a parent