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Patrick Clarke vs. transgender people

Psychiatry and transgender people Reviewed August 25, 2026 3 min read

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

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

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/

References

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/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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)

ORCID (orcid.org)

Genspect (genspect.org)

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