The Advocacy Imperative: Politics are Personal & Professional

The Advocacy Imperative: Politics are Personal & Professional

By Megan Mooney, PhD

I’ve recently attracted national attention for my role as a plaintiff in a legal case in Texas to protect the rights of families of transgender youth and their providers who give life-saving and medically necessary care. I think it’s important to know that my journey to this point wasn’t something fast and certainly was not one that I was prepared for in my graduate training. Rather, this was a slow journey over the past decade of my career as I realized that my voice as a psychologist was important, not just in a therapy room or a professional presentation. Rather, through a variety of experiences that all have converged at this moment in time, I have learned the incredible value of public advocacy and representation of psychological science to promote mental health and well-being.

My journey probably started during my internship year when I was fortunate enough to work at a community mental health center that served children and families who had experienced numerous traumas and hardships in their lives. As I continued to specialize in trauma-informed care into my early years as a licensed psychologist, I worked with the kinds of children and families that research consistently tells us are disproportionately impacted by trauma – those who are not white, wealthy, cisgender, heterosexual, and/or able bodied.

At this same time, I became interested in legislative and policy work because that is what my now-wife was focused on in her career – mental health policy. She was working in and around the Texas Capitol and our discussions of our days led me to realize that my work could often be either hindered or helped by a legislative process of which I had been blissfully unaware prior to that time. I became more interested and engaged in the Texas Psychological Association (TPA) and their legislative priorities that I saw could help our profession but also my clients and the greater community.

In what seemed like a separate part of my world then, I began helping some friends and colleagues with work on a small educational conference to help provide information and support for transgender youth and their families, particularly in schools. Over time, we realized that the need for community and support for these young people and their families was so great that our tiny conference was rapidly growing each year. We formed a non-profit entity called Gender Infinity to provide ongoing education and support for these incredible families and I’m thrilled to note that the work continues to this day. This organization has provided a safe place for kids to have fun and for their caregivers, teachers, and providers to get much-need information about gender-affirming care from national experts.

It is the particular confluence of my professional interests as well as my personality that strives for justice and fairness that led me to begin more actively advocating for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, especially transgender and gender diverse youth, in Texas. I have given testimony to our Texas legislature numerous times in support of the rights of transgender people and have helped write position statements on behalf of TPA in support of gender-affirming care. I have also been able to exchange information with colleagues in other states to help protect the rights of LGBTQ+ people as well as our ability to provide affirmative care in keeping with our ethics code and research. And I have given presentations across the country and have been interviewed by media outlets to further spread facts that support the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ people, especially youth. So, in an effort to keep on sharing information and to get more of our psychological community comfortable with the idea of professional advocacy, I will leave you with a few ideas and suggestions based on my unconventional journey:

1. The political is personal is professional. A specific bill proposed in Texas may not seem relevant to you or your clients directly. But all of these efforts are being broadcast loudly across the country. Our children are watching. Our clients and their children are watching. Our students and trainees are watching. They are watching efforts to strip away the rights and dignity of people. And they are watching to see if and how we, the experts in the science of mental health, stand up for what is right and good.
2. If we aren’t there, someone else will be. I have learned that someone is always going to be “there” to share ideas with legislators, policymakers, reporters, etc. If we want science and reason to be at the forefront of the discussion and guiding decisions, we’d better be there as psychologists to share the data and talk about why it matters.
3. Get involved. Do something. You do not have to engage in a lawsuit to make a difference. Writing emails as a constituent, posting research on social media, donating to a charity or grassroots advocacy group, and having a conversation with a neighbor are all equally valid paths towards advocacy and helping. There are coordinated attacks on the rights of people occurring as I type this, and you then read it. We must be equally well-coordinated in our responses and do so consistently.
4. Be an active member of your state or territorial psychological association and APA. Your local association will know what the crucial issues are facing you and your community and APA will help with coordinating the efforts across the country. These groups have plenty of people ready and willing to help guide you in taking whatever step you’re willing to and will give you all the talking points you need to be successful. And if you don’t know who to reach out to, feel free to email me 😊 I can’t do this all alone and thankfully I don’t. Please join me and get involved! You can reach me at drmeganmooney@gmail.com.