{"id":515180,"date":"2026-03-03T03:48:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T03:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/515180\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T03:48:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T03:48:07","slug":"licensed-texas-counselors-cant-give-trans-care-to-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/515180\/","title":{"rendered":"Licensed Texas counselors can\u2019t give trans care to kids"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy<\/a>, and give us feedback<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mental health providers licensed by the state cannot provide gender-transitioning care to minors, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Paxton clarified in his legal opinion Friday that Senate Bill 14<\/a>, a 2023 state law that bans health care providers from providing or facilitating treatment to minors that transitions their birth gender, such as with surgery or hormone treatments, also applies to mental health providers licensed by the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Those types of providers include professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychologists, and social workers. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis opinion should send a clear warning that there will be consequences for any medical professional, whether a doctor or a therapist, who is illegally transitioning\u2019 Texas kids,\u201d Paxton said Monday in a news release, adding he believes the path to youth transitioning from their birth gender often starts with mental health care providers. <\/p>\n

Gender-affirming health care<\/a> is a range of services that help align a person\u2019s physical and mental characteristics with their preferred gender identity. <\/p>\n

Mental health providers often help diagnose and recommend treatment to adults and minors with gender dysphoria<\/a>, a psychological diagnosis widely accepted in the medical and mental health communities for someone whose gender identity doesn\u2019t match their gender assigned at birth. The treatment can include depression and anxiety, assessments for readiness for hormone therapy or surgeries, and support for families. <\/p>\n

Darrel Spinks, executive director of the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, asked for clarification from the attorney general\u2019s office. <\/p>\n

Spinks, in his request, said that because SB 14 defines \u201chealth care provider\u201d in the context of medical procedures such as surgery and dispensing of prescription drugs, the council believes mental health care providers were not intended to be included in SB 14\u2019s restrictions. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe agency respectfully seeks clarification as to how such providers are impacted by S.B. 14, given that the prohibited activities and services are exclusively medical in nature and fall outside the scope of practice for mental health professionals,\u201d Spinks asked in his letter to Paxton. <\/p>\n

Paxton said he disagreed with Spinks\u2019 assessment, as the definition of \u201chealth care provider\u201d does not require a prescription pad or a scalpel, and that the law clearly states public funds, such as Medicaid funding, can\u2019t go to the facilitation of gender transitions, and mental health providers often play a role in gender affirming care.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe received several brief highlights that mental health professionals serve as the \u2018clinical gatekeepers whose assessments and recommendations initiate interventions\u2019 prohibited by SB 14,\u201d according to the opinion. <\/p>\n

The opinion also noted that violating SB 14 could result in a mental health provider losing public funding, such as Medicaid reimbursements, and losing their license to practice in Texas. <\/p>\n

\u201cAny radical facilitating the \u2018transitioning\u2019 of our kids is committing child abuse,\u201d said Paxton in a news release. \u201cThe law is clear that these radical procedures are illegal, and in no world should Texans\u2019 tax dollars be used to permanently harm children.\u201d <\/p>\n

Will Francis, executive director of the Texas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers<\/a>, said despite Paxton\u2019s opinion, mental health workers do not have to stop treating youth who suffer from gender dysphoria or need gender-affirming counseling because their counseling has long been considered protected speech under the First Amendment. <\/p>\n

In his request for an attorney general\u2019s opinion, Spinks referenced that the U.S. Supreme Court is examining<\/a> whether the counseling that a mental health provider gives is considered a free speech protection under the First Amendment. In that case, Kaley Chiles, a Colorado-licensed professional counselor, is challenging a state restriction that bars her from practicing conversion therapy. She says conversion therapy is a form of free speech rather than conduct, which can be regulated and has no First Amendment protection. <\/p>\n

\u201c(Paxton\u2019s) opinion doesn\u2019t change anything except scare and frighten both the clients and the social workers,\u201d Francis said. <\/p>\n

Paxton\u2019s opinion did not address whether mental health counseling constitutes free speech, saying, in general, that his office declines to answer questions that are the subject of pending litigation. Paxton did not immediately respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n

When asked for clarification on what the opinion means for providers, the council licenses, Spinks told The Texas Tribune: \u201cOur licensees are expected to comply fully with Texas law\u201d and did not prefer further clarity. <\/p>\n

Andrea Segovia, senior field and policy director at the Transgender Education Network of Texas, said that when SB 14 was still being considered, many legislators who supported it assured that the bill wouldn\u2019t impact mental health services for LGBTQIA+ kids in Texas. <\/p>\n

Paxton\u2019s opinion will harm access to care because it will scare mental health providers from giving care to young trans people in Texas, according to Johnathan Gooch, communications director of Equality Texas. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn no uncertain terms, trans young people will die as a result of this. Access to mental health care will become more complicated for some of the most marginalized people in our state,\u201d Gooch said. \u201cTo be messing with care for suicidal ideation among a population who face disproportionately high suicidal ideation is not just dangerous, it\u2019s morally without method.\u201d<\/p>\n

Francis said his organization is planning to partner with organizations like Equality Texas, ACLU, and Lambda Legal to create legal guidance for mental health providers to educate them on their First Amendment rights and the protections it provides to the therapeutic space. <\/p>\n

Gooch encourages mental health professionals to reach out to their lawyers to find out exactly what this opinion means for their practice. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn other words, don\u2019t be bullied,\u201d Gooch said. \u201cMental health practitioners need to do the work to understand what is and what isn\u2019t legal and shouldn\u2019t be bullied by someone like Ken Paxton, who just happens to have a megaphone through which he\u2019s projecting these ideas.\u201d Gooch also said parents who need help with mental health resources for their children can reference Equality Texas\u2019 Mental Health Toolkit<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Paxton\u2019s opinions aren\u2019t legally binding, although state agencies often use his conclusions to set policy. Despite this, Segovia and Gooch both said it\u2019s possible that mental health professionals may drop transgender clients out of fear of retaliation from Paxton. <\/p>\n

Paxton\u2019s office has leveraged SB 14<\/a> to go after medical doctors that it has accused of illegally providing gender affirming care to youth.<\/p>\n

May Lau, a Dallas pediatrician, surrendered her medical license last year after becoming the first doctor Paxton sued under SB 14. He also sought similar claims against an El Paso endocrinologist, Hector Granados, that were eventually dropped, and against Brett Cooper, another Dallas pediatrician. Cooper\u2019s case is set for a court hearing in May. <\/p>\n

Francis said that while Paxton\u2019s opinion is not legally binding, the Legislature could pass a bill enshrining his opinion to ban state licensed professionals from providing gender-affirming or gender-transitioning mental health care. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen legislators clearly understand that you need to talk to someone when you are having issues, and that the number one cause of suicide is related to mental illness. What we see is fear when it is related to LGBTQ+ issues,\u201d Francis said. \u201dMental health comes in many forms, and when you try to start to regulate that, you are starting to strip away the freedoms of Texans, but also silencing them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disclosure: Equality Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune\u2019s journalism. Find a complete\u00a0list of them here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For mental health support for LGBTQ youth, call the Trevor Project\u2019s 24\/7\u00a0toll-free support line<\/a>\u00a0at 866-488-7386. For trans peer support, call the\u00a0Trans Lifeline<\/a>\u00a0at 877-565-8860. You can also reach a trained crisis counselor through the\u00a0Suicide and Crisis Lifeline<\/a>\u00a0by calling or texting 988.<\/p>\n

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