Dominic Davies, CEO of PinkTherapy, explains Minority Stress Theory

It should be a given that amidst the plight of prejudice, trans people are adversely impacted by mental conditions including depression and anxiety. 

That is where minority stress theory comes in, opening LGBT people up to being vulnerable enough that somebody attempting to “cure” them of their gender identity might even manage to get through to them. 

This week I spoke to Dominic Davies, CEO of Pink Therapy, a directory of over 1,000 therapists and counsellors specialising in delivering support for LGBT people. 

“Very often,” he said. “ People feel they are weak because they are depressed and anxious, that there is something intrinsically wrong with them and these feelings generate systematic and social consequences.”

He discussed at length the gender debate, complicated by Trump’s America and the recent supreme court ruling on the legal definition of a woman. According to Dominic, micro-aggressions are the main cause of minority stress. 

Micro-aggressions are phrases that indirectly insult or marginalise someone, which can be as simple as saying “boys and girls” to suggest the existence of only two genders or asking “who is the man in this relationship?” to criticise a woman for being overly-masculine or a man for being overly-feminine. 

One of the types is proximal minority stress, where the discrimination is felt second-hand through somebody close to you. 

Dominic said: “It impacts your sense of self and tells you the world is not welcoming to people like you, and this has been known to create increased levels of substance abuse and self-harm.”

The theory sets important context for our investigation into conversion therapy, since practitioners will play off insecurity and vulnerability when attempting to “cure” a person. 

You can read more of my interview with Dominic when The Trans Cure? drops on 17th December. There, you will find out about his role in the proposed conversion therapy ban, and his view on why therapists are finding the whole process so overwhelming.