Laura Edwards-Lieper

Between Laura and the doctor who had gone after her approach.

Between Laura and the doctor who had gone after her approach.

As it turned out, this doctor had also been watching what the Dutch were doing back when word of their protocol was spreading around the world. But she thought about it very differently.

As it turned out, this doctor had also been watching what the Dutch were doing back when word of their protocol was spreading around the world. But she thought about it very differently.

And it was this way of thinking that was starting to take hold in the U.S.

And it was this way of thinking that was starting to take hold in the U.S.

Johanna, with the H. Dr. Joe Olson-Kennedy joined the faculty at Children's Hospital Los Angeles back in 2006 in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine.

Johanna, with the H. Dr. Joe Olson-Kennedy joined the faculty at Children's Hospital Los Angeles back in 2006 in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine.

So when Jo came in, the clinic was already working with some older trans teens. But then right around the time she started, the Dutch published their outline for using puberty blockers, the same one that inspired GEMS to send Laura to the Netherlands.

So when Jo came in, the clinic was already working with some older trans teens. But then right around the time she started, the Dutch published their outline for using puberty blockers, the same one that inspired GEMS to send Laura to the Netherlands.

While Jo immediately understood the transformational power of this new intervention, she wasn't as convinced as Laura about the rigorous assessment process the Dutch were doing. In part because when she started prescribing puberty blockers around 2007, the kids who were coming in looking for help weren't really young kids like many of the kids the Dutch were seeing.

While Jo immediately understood the transformational power of this new intervention, she wasn't as convinced as Laura about the rigorous assessment process the Dutch were doing. In part because when she started prescribing puberty blockers around 2007, the kids who were coming in looking for help weren't really young kids like many of the kids the Dutch were seeing.

Some had already started their natal puberty or were just about to.

Some had already started their natal puberty or were just about to.

The way Jo saw it, these patients were up against a clock. Delaying the treatment defeated the purpose of the intervention. But she also had some deeper issues with the assessments the Dutch did.

The way Jo saw it, these patients were up against a clock. Delaying the treatment defeated the purpose of the intervention. But she also had some deeper issues with the assessments the Dutch did.

To Jo, it was unrealistic to think that mental health providers could somehow predict the outcome for these kids decades down the line. And she said even trying to predict it was going to affect their relationship with their patients.

To Jo, it was unrealistic to think that mental health providers could somehow predict the outcome for these kids decades down the line. And she said even trying to predict it was going to affect their relationship with their patients.

And so, as Jo began to meet with patients, she said she felt comfortable as a medical doctor doing her own assessing of the care they might need.

And so, as Jo began to meet with patients, she said she felt comfortable as a medical doctor doing her own assessing of the care they might need.