CV NEWS FEED // A whistleblower who spoke out against gender-affirming care in an investigative article from the Free Press has been fired from her new job.
In an interview published by The Free Press on Thursday, therapist Tamara Pietzke tells the story of what happened after she exposed her former place of work for pressuring her to approve all teen gender transitions.
Pietzke was working as a child therapist for MultiCare in Washington state when she came under increased hostile pressure to prescribe hormone and other “gender affirming care” treatments to minors.
She decided to vacate her position, and eventually became a whistleblower.
Within a week after her account went public, Pietzke was fired from her new position.
“The day my story was published, I texted my new employer about it to give her a heads up,” Pietzke shared. “She eventually acknowledged that she got my message, but she didn’t really respond to it.”
Pietzke continued:
When I was hired, I agreed to do neurofeedback in addition to counseling, even though counseling is what I love. But last Thursday, she called me at 7 at night and told me she wanted a full-time neurofeedback practitioner. When I offered to do neurofeedback full-time, she said I wasn’t right for the position.
The next day, she sent me an email acknowledging my resignation. I drafted a response saying that I wanted to clarify that I did not resign. She hasn’t responded since.
In her original account, which was published by The Free Press earlier this month, Pietzke revealed that she was pressured by he supervisors to “throw out” all her training and approve gender transitions for teens “no matter the patient’s history or other mental health conditions that could be complicating the situation.”
“I was simply to affirm that the patient was transgender, and even approve the start of a medical transition.”
Pietzke cited the cases of three young clients who she was pressured to approve for gender transition. All of them had been diagnosed with severe mental health disorders. One patient seeking “gender-affirming care” was diagnosed with depression, PTSD, anxiety, intermittent explosive disorder, and autism.
A supervisor bereted Pietzke when expressed concern at the prospect of granting approval to this patient for “gender-affirming care,” claiming that there was “not valid, evidence-based, peer-reviewed research that would indicate that gender dysphoria arises from anything other than gender,” such as pre-existing mental health issues.
The supervisor also stated that Pietzke caused “harm to a client’s mental health” by restricting access to “gender-affirming care” and accused her of having “biases about trans kids.” The patient was ultimately removed from Pietzke’s care.
Pietzke stated at the end of her account:
My biggest fear about the gender-affirming practices my industry has blindly adopted is that they are causing irreversible damage to our clients. Especially as they are vulnerable people who come to us at their lowest moments in life, and who entrust us with their health and safety.
And yet, instead of treating them as we would patients with any other mental health condition, we have been instructed—and even bullied—to abandon our professional judgment and training in favor of unquestioning affirmation.
“I am speaking out because nothing will change unless people like me—who know the risks of medicalizing troubled young people—blow the whistle,” she added, concluding: “I am desperate to help my patients.”
