Some people feel distressed about their transition. Many others feel more ambivalent.

Some detransition. Others may not physically detransition, but their minds have detransitioned: they’ve moved on from an ideology that led them to believe they could become another person, and they’ve come to realise that this ideology can cause harm.

While there’s plenty of support for the happily transitioned, there’s not much out there for those who’ve been let down by the healthcare profession. The sense of disenchantment can be hard to bear.

We launched ‘Beyond Transition’ to meet the specific needs of detransitioners, as well as those who are in a more uncertain space. We believe it’s time that the varying needs of different groups are offered comprehensive help.

WHAT WE OFFER

WHY WE STARTED

THE BEYOND TRANSITION TEAM

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

What we offer:

Subsidised one-to-one therapy sessions

We fund therapy for anyone who is ‘Beyond Transition’, meaning that you only need to pay a small token amount per session. Working with organisations such as GETA, we’ll liaise with you to find you an appropriate therapist, making sure the treatment you receive is helpful and sustainable. Effective therapy offers more than simplistic ‘affirmation’: it offers a therapeutic process that encourages insight and self-awareness. We don’t think cost should be a barrier.

EMAIL [email protected]

Free therapeutic support groups

Run by Sophie Frost (of Genspect and Life Detransitions), we provide free therapeutic support groups, conducted via Zoom. These give you the chance to process your experiences, hear from those who have similar experiences, and develop strategies for positive change. Free therapeutic support groups are currently available every second Saturday at 6pm UK time.

EMAIL [email protected]

Free Professional Development Services

Need your CV snazzing up? A trial run for an interview? Or perhaps some guidance on where your career should be going? Our free Professional Development Services help you to figure out your future, whether you’re entering the job market or applying for further education.

EMAIL [email protected]

Free Life Skills Courses

Some people feel they lost valuable life skills when they were lost in transition. This programme offers practical and psychoeducational support related to healthcare, self-care, money management or inter-personal dynamics. Genspect’s Life Skills Courses are free, open access seminars providing you with the tools you need to move forward. Sign up for our special mailing list to make sure you’re in the loop: we’ll let you know what’s coming up.

EMAIL [email protected]

Beyond Transition Hangouts

Sometimes, you just need to be with others who ‘get it’: therapy isn’t for everyone, and it certainly isn’t for every day. Beyond Transition hangouts take place every other week, and provide informal, non-therapeutic Zoom spaces where you can meet new people, see new perspectives, and become part of a wider community.

EMAIL [email protected]

Get paid to publish on Genspect.org

We want the world to hear about your experiences. That’s why we’ve committed to pay a fee every time we publish a submission written by someone who is Beyond Transition. And if writing isn’t your medium, we pay for video submissions, too.

EMAIL [email protected]

Help us see the bigger picture

We’re gathering information about transition and detransition, so we can understand as much as possible about these under-researched phenomena – especially from a legal and medical point of view. If you’d like to tell us about your trajectory, and the treatment you received, please reach out to us: everything you tell us is in confidence.

EMAIL [email protected]

Wellness Retreat

Sometimes, it’s the internet that’s the problem: we’re all glued to the screen, and it’s hard to form genuine connections. Our pilot Wellness Retreat is open to everyone from the Great Lakes and Midwest area: we’ll subsidise your travel and accommodation, giving you a chance to meet kindred spirits, engage in healing activities, and find your centre – without the pixels. Get in touch to register your interest.

EMAIL [email protected]

Work with professionals to find a bigger audience

If you want to speak to the wider public, we can put you in contact with professionals who can help – whether it’s print, radio or TV journalists, or a professional ghost-writer who can work with you to write a manuscript to pitch to a book publisher. More and more people want to hear about your experience: if you’re ready, we can share your voice.

EMAIL [email protected]

Beyond Transition Game Night

A community isn’t just united by its hardship: there should always be room to have some fun! Our Discord game nights, held every other week, give you an opportunity to connect with like-minded people over Jackbox party games. Gender doesn’t even need to come into it.

EMAIL [email protected]

As we learn more about life beyond transition, our community will grow. And we’d love you to join us.

You’ll be helping us to raise public awareness of the medical and other challenges facing an under-served cohort. You’ll also receive email updates, notifications of coming events, and have the chance to join our Community Forum.

For those who choose to get involved in a variety of projects, there will be an opportunity to join our internal working group. You’ll be able to liaise with other Genspecters, work on existing projects – and perhaps even start your own!

CLICK TO GET STARTED

Also, don’t forget to follow us on social media: we’re available on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Need help now?

If you are in immediate need, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’ll do what we can to help.

EMAIL [email protected]

Donate to Beyond Transition

If you would like to help make Beyond Transition a sustainable programme for those in need, please do consider making a recurring monthly donation to Genspect via PayPal. Your generous gift will enable us to continue running the initiatives above – and changing lives in the process.

DONATE VIA PAYPAL

Why we started Beyond Transition

Ever since our launch in June 2021, Genspect made the decision to work both with trans people, and with detransitioners. We’re aware that many detrans people still have friends in the trans community, and are understandably sceptical about the public discourse around trans issues.

In many cases, those who are dissatisfied with transition may not wish to re-enter the arduous process of detransitioning. No-one should be pressured to go back into the same healthcare system which disappointed them in the first place.

As our organisation grew, the absence of provision for desisters, detransitioners and disenchanted trans people became ever more critical. We came to realise that the label “detransition” did not capture the growing dissatisfaction with the many challenges pertaining to transition, and that it was not just detransitioners who needed a voice.

So on March 12th, 2022, we hosted a Detrans Awareness Day webinar, where detransitioners could speak about their own experiences, in their own words. You can watch the entire event here:

Or watch selected clips:

Hearing these testimonies, we decided to prioritise those who have been so badly let down by the healthcare system. Beyond Transition is the result of that decision: and we’re determined to create a change for the better.