Patrick Clarke vs. transgender people

Patrick H. Clarke is an Australian psychiatrist and anti-transgender activist. Clarke serves on the advisory board of Genspect. Clarke’s Genspect profile states Clarke “has been affiliated with Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine since 2020.” Both organizations have been designated as anti-trans hate groups.

Background

Patrick H. Clarke is a clinical senior lecturer at Adelaide University. Clarke is a prominent proponent of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), formerly known as electro-convulsive therapy (ECT). Clarke has been affiliated with The Ramsay Clinic.

Clarke’s published profile stated:

“I am an adult psychiatrist based in Adelaide, South Australia. I work primarily in Private Practice, and my longstanding special interest is in severe, treatment resistant mood disorders. I have developed an interest in Gender Dysphoria (GD) over the last five years. My GD patients primarily see me for management of their comorbid psychiatric problems, however I have recently updated my psychotherapy skills after attending the Psychotherapy Conference in Tampere. Although practising as an adult psychiatrist, I see patients from age 16. I work primarily in person, however also see patients by Zoom. I am licensed to practice in Australia, and would be willing to accept patients from all states and territories in Australia.”

A profile by Zinnia Jones states:

Clarke is an Australian psychiatrist who coauthored Clayton et al. (2021) and submitted an October 2022 letter to the Icelandic parliament arguing against a ban on conversion therapy, claiming to be “greatly concerned that this Bill will result in ethical, neutral psychotherapies being conflated with Conversion Therapy”.

References

Leveille, Lee; McLamore, Quinnehtukqut (February 7, 2023). SEGM Exposed Reloaded: The Shadow Money Behind a Leading Anti-Trans Think Tank. Health Liberation Now! https://healthliberationnow.com/2023/02/07/segm-exposed-reloaded-the-shadow-money-behind-a-leading-anti-trans-think-tank/

Jones, Zinnia (January 30, 2023). Florida’s newest Boards of Medicine appointees wrote an anti-trans letter calling for gender “exploratory” therapy, citing a report of a trans teenager being involuntarily hospitalized for nearly two years. Medium https://zinniajones.medium.com/floridas-newest-boards-of-medicine-appointees-wrote-an-anti-trans-letter-calling-for-gender-29855c468747

Jones, Zinnia (January 29, 2023). Florida’s newest Boards of Medicine appointees wrote an anti-trans letter calling for gender “exploratory” therapy, citing a report of a trans teenager being involuntarily hospitalized for nearly two years. Gender Analysis https://genderanalysis.net/2023/01/floridas-newest-boards-of-medicine-appointees-wrote-an-anti-trans-letter-calling-for-gender-exploratory-therapy-citing-a-report-of-a-trans-teenager-being-involuntarily-hosp/

Anti-trans coverage

Rice, Stephen (August 30, 2025). Psychiatry journal rejects ‘apology demand’ paper. The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/psychiatry-journal-rejects-apology-demand-paper/news-story/b685e9df31768355cb3477a92de8a8f0

Lane, Bernard (August 29, 2025). The profession that failed: The college of psychiatrists in Australia and New Zealand should apologise for the harm done by paediatric medical transition. Gender Clinic News https://www.genderclinicnews.com/p/the-profession-that-failed

Smith, Kirralie (June 26, 2025). 100 medical professionals sign open letter warning against puberty blockers. Binary https://www.binary.org.au/100_medical_professionals_sign_open_letter_warning_against_puberty_blockers

Selected writing by Clarke

Spencer, J., D’Angelo, R., & Clarke, P. (2025). Formulation concepts in the care of children and adolescents identifying as transgender or gender diverse. Australasian Psychiatry, 34(2), 118–121. https://doi.org/10.1177/10398562251362739

Clarke, P., & Amos, A. (2024). Gender-affirming care through the lens of abnormal illness behaviour and abnormal treatment behaviour. Australasian Psychiatry, 33(2), 282–288. https://doi.org/10.1177/10398562241276978

Clarke, P., & Spiller, V. (2022). Letter to the Editor regarding ‘Re: The RANZCP position statement on gender dysphoria.’ Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 57(1), 143–150. https://doi.org/10.1177/00048674221125139

Clarke, Patrick (October 2022). Letter to Icelandic lawmakers. https://www.althingi.is/pdf/erindi_mals/?lthing=153&malnr=45

Clayton, A., Malone, W. J., Clarke, P., Mason, J., & D’Angelo, R. (2021). Commentary: The Signal and the Noise—questioning the benefits of puberty blockers for youth with gender dysphoria—a commentary on Rew et al. (2021). Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 27(3), 259–262. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12533

D’Angelo, R., “Syrulnik, E.”, Ayad, S., Marchiano, L., Kenny, D. T., & Clarke, P. (2020). One Size Does Not Fit All: In Support of Psychotherapy for Gender Dysphoria. Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01844-2

D’Angelo, Roberto; “Syrulnik, Ema”; Ayad, Sasha; Marchiano, Lisa; Kenny, Dianna Theadora; Clarke, Patrick (November 1, 2020). Jack Turban’s Dangerous Campaign to Smear Ethical Psychotherapy as Anti-Trans ‘Conversion Therapy.’ Quillette https://quillette.com/2020/11/01/jack-turbans-dangerous-campaign-to-smear-ethical-psychotherapy-as-anti-trans-conversion-therapy/

(). Comment: Pubertal Suppression for Transgender Youth and Risk of Suicidal Ideation.

Resources

Adelaide University (adelaide.edu.au)

• Patrick H. Clarke
• https://adelaide.edu.au/people/patrick.h.clarke

ORCID (orcid.org)

• Patrick Clarke
• orcid.org/0000-0002-7364-6078

Genspect (genspect.org)

• Advisory board: Patrick Clarke, MBBS, FRANZCP
• genspect.org/meet-the-team/advisory-board