The Relationship Between Political Ideologies of Clinical Mental Health Counselors and Their Decisions About Client Requests for Letters Supporting Gender Affirming Chest Masculinization Surgeries

This study investigated the relationship between clinical mental health counselors’ (CMHCs) political ideologies and their reported decisions regarding gender-affirming chest masculinization surgery (GACMS) support letters in a clinical vignette. Participants (N = 134) rated their likelihood of writing a letter and using four treatment approaches. Conservative and Republican CMHCs were less likely than liberal and Democrat CMHCs to report that they would provide letters. However, political ideology and party affiliation were not significantly associated with likelihood of refusing to write letters or implementing treatment approaches. Possible explanations for these findings and recommendations for future research were discussed.