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Kasia KozƂowska vs. transgender people

Kasia KozƂowska is a psychiatrist. KozƂowska has published harmful views of trans and gender diverse minors.

Background

Kasia KozƂowska MBBS, FRANZCP, PhD is a child and adolescent psychiatrist, KozƂowska has served as Associate Professor at Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

A self-supplied bio states:

Dr. Kasia Kozlowska is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Australia, a Clinical Associate Professor in the Disciplines of Psychiatry and of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Sydney Medical School, and a clinical researcher at The Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead, Australia. Her interests include the treatment of children with somatic symptoms and their families, the integration of attachment assessments and systems thinking into clinical practice, and the neurobiology of the fear cascade.

Another bio states:

Dr. Kasia Kozlowska is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and clinician-researcher at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and the Westmead Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney. With her extensive expertise and dedication to the field, Dr. Kozlowska has made significant contributions to the understanding and treatment of functional neurological disorders (FND) in children.

At The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Dr. Kozlowska leads a multidisciplinary consultation-liaison team, working collaboratively with experts from various disciplines to provide comprehensive care for children with complex medical conditions, including FND. Her research program focuses specifically on children with functional neurological disorders, aiming to bridge the gap between research findings and clinical practice. Dr. Kozlowska also directs a specialist program that offers tailored treatment for children who are disabled by functional neurological symptoms.

Anti-trans research

Kozlowska’s research has been cited to restrict or ban gender affirming medical treatment (GAMT) for minors:

While further research is needed to help inform clinical care of trans young people, randomized placebo-controlled trials are inappropriate and not a suitable study design for GAMTs for the following reasons: (1) it is unethical to deny GAMT due to the substantial existing evidence and expert consensus in favor of psychosocial benefits, (2) patients would be unwilling to risk being randomized to no treatment, and (3) treatments have obvious effects which would invalidate placebo control (Ashley et al., Citation2023). Moreover, studies involving a comparison group should scrupulously avoid bias in the selection of control samples. An earlier paper from the same research study as Elkadi and colleagues by Kozlowska et al. (Citation2021) is an example of questionable research design in this area, with a “non-clinical comparison group” which recruited the well children of well, employed adults, and excluded all those who had a personal or family history of mental illness or had ever seen a counselor or psychologist.

This profound selection bias undermines the study’s conclusions, and it is highly concerning that this paper has been used in multiple United States jurisdictions to defend bans on care for trans youth (e.g. Florida, Dekker v. Weida; Arkanas, Brandt v. Rutledge) and to justify heavily restricting care access for trans adults as well (Florida ACHA, 2021). 

2024 article attacking the Dutch protocol

Kozlowska was an author with other anti-trans activists advocating for conversion therapy and delayed transition:

References

Skinner, S. R., McLamore, Q., Donaghy, O., Stathis, S., Moore, J. K., Nguyen, T., Rayner, C., Tait, R., Anderson, J., & Pang, K. C. (2023). Recognizing and responding to misleading trans health research. International Journal of Transgender Health, 25(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2024.2289318

Coverage in anti-trans media

Carter, Rachel; Smith, Pau (March 27, 2024). A research black hole? Australia’s gender clinics and their patient outcomes. Australian Doctor https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/a-research-blackhole-australias-gender-clinics-and-their-patient-outcomes/

Atlay, Kemal; Smith, Paul (January 25, 2024). How an Aussie study on transgender ‘desistance’ rates became a culture war flashpoint. Australian Doctor https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/how-an-aussie-study-on-transgender-desistance-rates-became-a-culture-war-flashpoint/

Smith, Kirralie (July 31, 2023). Professor Dianna Kenny responds to 4 Corners program. Binary https://www.binary.org.au/professor_dianna_kenny_responds_to_4_corners_program

Robinson, Natasha (February 18, 2023). Sex, drugs and regret: gender clinic docs reveal the truth. The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/science/doctor-scrutiny-on-gender-clinic-reveals-legal-and-safety-fears/news-story/8af81768fde27884caf18fff345ab78a

Lane, Bernard (May 19, 2022). Child-led gender guideline up for major revision. Gender Clinic News https://www.genderclinicnews.com/p/child-led-gender-guideline-up-for

Selected publications

Kozlowska, K., Ambler, G. R., DechĂȘne, S., Almaraz Almaraz, M. C., Eliacheff, C., Entwistle, K., Esteva de Antonio, I., GĂłmez Gil, E., Hofman, P., Hunter, P., Kaltiala, R., Koener, B., LandĂ©n, M., Ledrait, A., Maguire, A. M., Masson, C., O’Malley, S., Raven, M., Ryan, H., 
 Scher, S. (2024). Evolving national guidelines for the treatment of children and adolescents with gender dysphoria: International perspectives. Human Systems: Therapy, Culture and Attachments, 5(2), 89–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/26344041241269298

Elkadi, J., Chudleigh, C., Maguire, A. M., Ambler, G. R., Scher, S., & Kozlowska, K. (2023). Developmental Pathway Choices of Young People Presenting to a Gender Service with Gender Distress: A Prospective Follow-Up Study. Children, 10(2), 314. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10020314

Hilton, M. N., Boulton, K. A., Kozlowska, K., McClure, G., & Guastella, A. J. (2022). The co-occurrence of neurodevelopmental disorders in gender dysphoria: Characteristics within a paediatric treatment-seeking cohort and factors that predict distress pertaining to gender. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 149, 281–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.02.018

Kozlowska, K., McClure, G., Chudleigh, C., Maguire, A. M., Gessler, D., Scher, S., & Ambler, G. R. (2021). Australian children and adolescents with gender dysphoria: Clinical presentations and challenges experienced by a multidisciplinary team and gender service. Human Systems: Therapy, Culture and Attachments, 1(1), 70–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/26344041211010777

Kozlowska, K., Chudleigh, C., McClure, G., Maguire, A. M., & Ambler, G. R. (2021). Attachment Patterns in Children and Adolescents With Gender Dysphoria. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.582688

Books

Kozlowska, Kasia; Scher, Stephen [editors] (2025). Revitalizing Health Care Ethics: The Clinician’s Voice. Springer Nature Switzerland, ISBN 978-3-031-78474-3 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-78475-0

Kozlowska, Kasia; Scher, Stephen (2018). Rethinking Health Care Ethics Springer Nature Singapore, ISBN 9789811308307 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0830-7

Media

Four Corners (July 11, 2023). VIDEO: Blocked: The battle over youth gender care. ABC News https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-11/blocked:-the-battle-over-youth-gender-care/102587506 alt url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzNHvhxuja4

Resources

NSW Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network Kids Research (kr.schn.health.nsw.gov.au)

  • Mind-Body team research
  • kr.schn.health.nsw.gov.au/our-research/kids-mental-health-research/mind-body-team-research