Resources for Circumcision Trauma and Regret

Learning the truth about circumcision can be very difficult for people who were circumcised as children, and for parents with circumcised children. A mental health care provider can help you process a wide range of emotions in a respectful environment.

If you are an adult who is experiencing anger, rage, distrust, resentment, anguish, bitterness, depression, or thoughts of suicide because you are circumcised...

If you have been dismissed, misunderstood, embarrassed, or mocked by others when you’ve expressed your feelings of violation...

If you are a parent who feels guilty, ashamed, angry, victimized, heartbroken, or devastated because you allowed your child to be circumcised...

If you are traumatized from witnessing your baby’s circumcision...

Then the professionals listed here may be able to help. In the United States, where penile genital cutting is largely believed to be "just a little snip,” sometimes it can be difficult to find a mental health care provider who will respect and understand your feelings about circumcision and be able to guide you in the healing process. (Though there are many who do understand, or at least are open to learning.) The providers on this page are people who recognize the trauma caused by genital cutting and can offer a perspective that other mental health care providers might not be able to provide.

Ronald Goldman, Ph.D. (private sessions & Zoom group support)

Dr. Goldman is the founder and Executive Director of the Circumcision Resource Center, a nonprofit educational organization in Boston. Men who have concerns and feelings about circumcision contact him regularly. Parents with regret for choosing circumcision or difficulty deciding about circumcision of a son are supported with empathy and compassion. He is particularly supportive of Jewish parents.

Dr. Goldman’s books, Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma and Questioning Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective, have educated many on unrecognized psychological and Jewish aspects of circumcision. They include groundbreaking investigations based on hundreds of contacts with men, parents, Jews, and medical and mental health professionals.

In-Person Service Area: Boston area and New England for therapeutic, body-oriented sessions

Counseling by telephone and Skype

Your Whole Baby sponsors a video conferencing support group for people harmed by penile genital cutting that meets twice a month. One meeting is a peer support group, and the other is facilitated by Dr. Goldman. Dr. Goldman facilitates a 90-minute session with 6–8 participants using Zoom video conferencing. Meetings may include, but are not limited to: participants sharing reasons for attending; asking questions; describing prior relevant communications with their parents, partners, friends, and/or counselors; offering supportive responses to other participants; expressing emotions in a safe and supportive setting; exploring individual difficulties and resistances to healing; and discussing strategies for moving forward.

Anyone who would like to join the group facilitated by Dr. Goldman, please submit the following application.

https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSfwjsq41ENTv.../viewform

If you have questions, please message or email Jeff Brown at: jeff@yourwholebaby.org

Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Postpartum Health & Harmony

I specialize in maternal mental health, which includes prenatal and postpartum stress, infertility, and loss issues.  I provide individual and couples therapy, as well as group therapy for mothers in need of prenatal & postpartum support.  

Service area: Northern NJ  

If you are searching for local mental health care and multiple options exist, it can help to screen potential providers to discern their feelings on the subject and see if they are a good fit for you. This way you can protect yourself and derive maximum benefit from therapy.

Read our collection of experiences from parents who chose circumcision for one or more children, and came to regret the choice. Learn more about how they have dealt with negative feelings and communicated openly with their children and/or partners.

Non-professional support for regret parents can be found in these Facebook groups:

If you are a mental healthcare provider/professional life coach or know a mental healthcare provider/professional life coach who would be a good addition to this list of resources, please contact us.