DETRANS: When transition is not the solution

by Az Hakeem

Increasing numbers of people are identifying as belonging to a gender different to that of their biological sex. There's a commonly held assumption that some people are ‘trans’ and ‘born into the wrong body. Most healthcare interventions will ‘affirm’ the person’s preferred gender and help them to transition often in a physically irreversible way.

But what if someone who makes a gender transition later changes their mind? What if they regret making irreversible physical changes to their body? What then?

This book is about the detransitioners and the desisters for whom gender transition was not the hoped for solution.

The people whom society has been led to believe do not exist and who are not followed up by the gender clinics who facilitated their gender transition. But those of us who work with them clinically know all too well that they exist and that their numbers are growing rapidly.

This book sheds light on the phenomenon of detransition and gives a voice to the detrans people and the parents for whom transition can impact with devastating consequences.“Beset by scandal and pseudoscience, the edifice of Transgender Medicine is toppling under its own weight. Dr Hakeem provides the ultimate guide to understanding why the current medical regime failed, and how we can build a more sober and compassionate treatment regime for sufferers of gender dysphoria.”

Abigail Shrier, author of Irreversible The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters“By turns touching and heartbreaking, this uniquely insightful book combines the insights of the first clinician to write about the modern explosion in trans identification from outside the ‘gender affirmative’ paradigm, and those of the detransitioners who are its fallout.”

Helen Joyce, author of When Ideology Meets Reality“Dr Hakeem has been deeply involved in working with those with disturbance in relation to Gender for very many years and is one of leading thinkers in this area... he was there at the beginning. This book makes a unique contribution to this discipline... Dr Hakeem brings his long experience and knowledge of that most neglected group - those who changed their mind, 'detransitioners'. Their painful stories have been silenced in the media storm and Dr Hakeem gives them a voice. This book... will be essential reading for all those involved in work either professionally or as carers of individuals in distress in relation to their gender... given the huge storm this subject has created... it will be of considerable interest to the general reader who wants to understand this area from the wise and balanced perspective Dr Hakeem provides.”

Dr David Bell, Psychoanalyst and former Governor of Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust“DETRANS is essential reading for anyone who is interested in supporting people with gender-related distress. This is a compelling read. The harrowing stories of the detransitioners are combined with practical approaches that can offer hope... Anyone embarking on medical or social transition should read this. Parents of gender-distressed children should read this. Professionals should read this. Most of all, those people who are lost in transition, who have already medically transitioned and are now reflecting on their situation, should read this as they will come to realise there are many ways to cope with the trauma of an inappropriate medical transition. DETRANS lays bare the shameful behaviour of medical professionals and therapists who perpetrated the notion that medical transition could act as a panacea for vulnerable people.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gender

231 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2023

About the author

Dr Az Hakeem (MBBS, FRCPsych, Msc M.InstGA) is a top gender expert. He is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Visiting Professor in Psychiatry & Applied Psychotherapy. He ran a specialist Gender Dysphoria service in the NHS for 12 years. He now practises in the private sector at The Priory Hospital Roehampton and at Harley Street. He is a Visiting Professor at Bradford University and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at The University of New South Wales, Australia. Az has a wealth of media experience. He was an on-screen resident psychiatrist alongside Davina McCall on Channel 4's Big Brother, and a psychotherapist and co-presenter on E4's Wife Swap: The Aftermath. He has also appeared as Resident Psychiatrist on Weekend Sunrise in Australia and GMTV in the UK.

Reviews

[Lisa Shultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author, Dr. Az Hakeem, is a psychiatrist in the UK. If the reader is new to gender ideology, this book offers a lot. Dr. Hakeem begins explaining why he wrote the book as well as what he calls 'pretrans', which is the recipe for someone moving into a trans identity. There are often similar elements and histories of individuals that might consider identifying as the opposite sex. Learning about the ingredients that can push someone into identifying as trans was insightful for me. Some examples of personality traits and background that are often associated with 'trans' are autism (often undiagnosed), trauma, and youth subculture. I also learned how gender ideology captures organizations, media, and society. Stories of men and women who desisted, detransitioned, and retransitioned were helpful for me to understand from their eyes what happened to them and how they feel about it. Two parent stories were also included.

I found the discussion of affirmation particularly valuable. "The word 'affirmation' is literally a 'positive' word, and so our gut instinct is that it must be a good thing. In reality of course an 'affirmation only' approach denies the person any thoughtful enquiry, which could be extremely helpful. After all, the phrase goes, 'a problem shared is a problem solved', and not merely a solution shared...'. The post op regretters were universally of the opinion that if they had been able to access an exploratory space in the first place, then they would not have pursued the irreversible physical steps, which they later came to regret." 

And finally, I liked the quote: "Gender critical is not 'anti-trans', or 'transphobic', in the same way that psychiatry is not 'anti-mental illness'." 

[Fred Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I’ve read about the transgender horror. The things that have been done to detransitioners’ bodies you would not wish on your worst enemy. It’s heartbreaking.

The biggest problem with this book is poor editing. Perhaps the grammatical and other errors littered throughout will be fixed at some point.

[Denise Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr Hakeem is offering invaluable insight gained from many years professional work with ‘trans’ people. As someone very concerned about the effects of gender identity ideology I have found it immensely helpful - and the information on the realities of transition is so important now. Thank you Dr Hakeem.

[Laura Bugbee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been very impressed with Dr. Hakeem in interviews, but I must admit his book seriously suffers from being self-published.

I expected, or at least hoped for, a book centering around the unique insight Dr. Hakeem brings as a psychiatrist who ran group therapy for all varieties of “trans” identifying people. I was hoping for case studies of patients he saw, privacy law permitting, with examples of each type of “trans,” as he categorizes them.

Unfortunately, the book that went to print is a poorly edited jumble of what could be diary entries or blog posts. As a piece of the written word, it’s a disaster, with frequent typos, run-on sentences, misspellings, and incomplete statements. At least one passage is printed twice, word for word, across three pages. Pronoun usage, arguably a very important piece of the “trans” discussion, is inconsistent.

In the first third of the book, Dr. Hakeem rarely delves deeply into any topic, hopping from quick outlines of his “trans” categories to an brief chapter mostly quoting 1984 to a slightly braggadocious bit about what it means to be gender critical.

The middle features pieces written by victims of gender ideology. Some are better composed than others, and while I lay no blame at the feet of the traumatized writers, a few are so fragmented they would have been better suited to a more artistic book dedicated to the various mental states of victims.

The final third of the book includes more chapters from contributors touching on various organizations involved in the battle against gender ideology. It’s worth emphasizing that half or more of this book is not actually written by Dr. Hakeem.

All in all, if you’re looking to educate yourself about the “trans” phenomenon and can only read a few books on it, I would not recommend this one. It’s poorly structured, poorly edited, and the information in it can be better gleaned from the personal works of victims and the gender critical, and Dr. Hakeem’s interviews.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great information - intro is quite badly written though. Needed an editor! Overall structure of the book doesn’t flow great, but the information is compelling. Referencing data and scientific studies would have made this stronger.

[Hannah Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

an essential read

Possibly one of the most helpful and concise booked on the subject covering not only medical and psychological aspects, but also highlighting the very personal and social experiences of people affected by the movement. If you can only give one book to people who want an inside look into this complex and harrowing issue this might be the one. The voice it gives to the abused and often socially silenced victims of medical malpractice and cult-like ideological possession is harrowing but so hearteningly necessary. Not an easy read, but an essential, rational, and compassionate one.

[Josie A.]

Best book explaining social contagion. I highly recommend.

[Susan Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three-word review of this book: 'It's the answer.'

[Glenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars because I liked not loved it. This is the third trans related book that I've read in a row and I'm just a little exhausted with the topic. Hakeem makes some very interesting and balanced points and adds a lot of extra first hand accounts for those that want to read them. The book's title is more provocative than I think the text is. Hakeem is basically arguing for the refocus of transgenderism as a psychological phenomenon (vs an 'identity' issue), offers a taxonomy of the range of ways that gender dysphoria/transgenderism can manifest, speculates from his clinical experience as to possible causes, and argues for additional treatment modalities including more balanced therapeutic approaches. Substantial time is also devoted to the folies of recent years in which political activism has influenced the scientific process in unhealthy ways but honestly if that is your interest I recommend looking at the recent decision in Skrmetti vs TN which lays it out and includes more to date citations.

[Hyde · Rating 2 out of 5]

mehh