Detransitioner Camille Kiefel WINS settlement in malpractice suit against therapists who signed off on double breast removal

Just days before the case was set to go to trial, a settlement was reached between detransitioner Camille Kiefel and a pair of Oregon mental health providers who she claimed had ignored serious mental health problems and instead referred her for a double mastectomy.

A confidential settlement was entered into by the parties days before the malpractice lawsuit, in which Kiefel sought $3.5 million, was set to begin a jury trial in the Circuit Court in Multnomah County, in January, per reporter Benjamin Ryan, who was the first to report the existence of a settlement.

Kiefel’s attorneys, Josh Payne, of Campbell Miller Payne, and Zac Hostetter, of Hostetter Law Group, told Ryan in a joint statement, "We are proud to have represented Camille Kiefel in her pursuit of justice. It was our privilege to fight for her, and we are pleased the parties were able to resolve the matter shortly before the trial was set to begin. We are not at liberty to disclose the terms of the settlement as they are confidential."

The initial complaint, filed in 2022, named Amy Ruff, a licensed clinical social worker, and Mara Burmeister, a licensed professional counselor as the defendants, as well as their respective employers, Brave Space, and the Quest Center for Integrative Health. The complaint said that Kiefel, then 32, has "struggled with numerous mental health issues and diagnoses since her pre-teen and teenage years" and has been diagnosed with "ADHD, CPTSD, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder."

She began to identify as non-binary in 2016 while suffering serious symptoms of her mental health conditions, and described to therapists a feeling of "dysphoria" regarding her breasts. "Feeling as though she had tried 'everything' to help her mental health issues," Kiefel "came to believe that breast reduction or breast removal (double mastectomy) would finally solve her mental health problems."

The suit claimed that Kiefel had one telehealth meeting each with Ruff and Burmeister lasting around an hour, and after each appointment, they issued a referral letter for her mastectomy, despite the two workers being made aware of her mental health diagnoses. Kiefel underwent a double mastectomy in August of 2020, however, her mental health symptoms and feelings of body dysmorphia did not improve. In 2022, she realized that she did not have "gender identity disorder," and that the double mastectomy had worsened her mental health and well-being, including increased suicidal ideation.