James Esses is a former criminal defence barrister who later continued his work in criminal justice through civil service before deciding to train to become a therapist. In May 2021, three years into his five-year MSc course at the Metanoia Institute (accredited by Middlesex University), Esses received an email from this institute expelling him from the course.
Esses states, “The reason for my expulsion was that I had been trying to safeguard therapy and counselling for vulnerable children with gender dysphoria. I had lodged a public petition, which subsequently got 10,000 signatures and a response from the government, who agreed to many of the safeguards I had been seeking. The petition caused a social media backlash against me and culminated in my expulsion. My course provider needlessly publicised the expulsion on social media. I worry that this has therefore ended my career in my chosen profession before it has even begun.”
Read Esses’ statement again, my dear reader. No, it’s not the height of McCarthyism and there is non need to check your calendar. It’s 2021 and Esses is one of a long list of individuals who have had their careers—to include studies to further their profession—derailed by a lobby that has its roots firmly implanted in educational institutions, to include a quite twisted and nepotistic relationship from the anonymous power brokers of social media.
“This was done to me,” Esses continues, “because I hold gender critical beliefs: that sex is biological and immutable. This is particularly relevant in the field of psychotherapy because individuals with gender dysphoria need to be treated in a balanced and holistic way.”
I interviewed Esses on the Savage Minds podcast wherein he details why therapy for individuals with gender dysphoria is in danger of being made illegal resulting in the criminalisation of therapists who carried out their professional duties. Esses explains, “I also discovered around the world laws being created which could criminalise therapists who did anything other than affirm transitioning with their clients. As a result, I co-founded a group of therapists called 'Thoughtful Therapists'. Our aim was to focus on therapeutic interventions to support those struggling with their gender. We began to campaign against policies and legislation which prevent therapists from working in an open and explorative way with children and mandate affirmation of transitioning.”
Esses continues, “For some, gender reassignment will be the appropriate treatment. For others, it will not. Careful and appropriate talking therapy allows each individual properly to explore underlying causes and options for their care. This is the approach that therapists pursue for every other mental health condition, and it should be no different for gender dysphoria.”
Four weeks after the launch of his petition, it received over 10,000 signatures supporting this action which in the UK means that the government must give a response. “The petition, and related campaigning that I have been engaged in, sought only to recognise this. I sought to prevent an approach advocated by gender theory advocates, whereby therapists would be required, on pain of criminal punishment, to solely affirm gender dysphoric clients into their identified gender, Esses explains. “This would have caused huge damage to an untold number of vulnerable gender dysphoric individuals, especially children, for whom irreversible hormonal and surgical intervention may not be the appropriate treatment.
My course provider is an organisation which ascribes to gender theory. As a consequence of this, when they saw the social media backlash against my petition, they expelled me in a single email. I had no right of appeal, no explanation of what I had done wrong, and no opportunity to set out why my actions were justified.”
As many British readers are already aware, the fight against the draconian punishments set against the likes of Maya Forstater and Harry Miller and many others are taking place within the courts. Esses’ case is no different and he is crowdfunding to pay for legal representation to take his case to court. “Primarily, the case is about the significant damage to me on a personal level,” Esses relates, “However, if successful, I believe the case will also go a significant way to ensuring that no student suffers in the same way that I have done, protect the ability of therapists to treat clients professionally and according to their needs and demonstrate the legal protections which underpin freedom of speech and freedom of belief regarding sex and gender. No one should be punished for exercising their freedom of speech, especially when their goal is to protect children.”
Esses’ solicitor is Peter Daly who is now considered a specialist in gender critical cases because of many similar cases such as those of Maya Forstater, Allison Bailey, Raquel Rosario Sanchez, Katie Alcock and many others. His barrister is Akua Reindorf who is an eminent discrimination lawyer and judge. Reindorf recently wrote the report addressing the ill-treatment of gender critical feminists, Jo Phoenix and Rosa Freedman, by Essex University.
Esses is now crowdfunding to take up his and all our legal rights to free expression. It is a pity that the private citizen is doing the unpaid labour of paid politicians, the majority of whom today show demonstrable cowardice. Savage Minds stands with James Esses and condemns the current hostile environment that perpetuates in Britain and much of the west where diversity of opinion and intellectual debate is as repressed today as it was during the Great Inquisition.
It truly beggars the imagination that any sane human being actually believes the entire trans construct. It's a testament to the power of propaganda and the vulnerability of the human psyche to indoctrination. The resistance to scientific truth and material facts is what I find extremely disturbing.