Gender Therapist Who Said She Would Hook Me Up

[Guest ramoneskid]

I met my therapist a few days ago. I'm not going to go into much detail because I'm overheated and bored of computers. basically my parent found the therapist, told them my "story" and she said she could likely get me hooked up with a T script in 6 weeks, possibly for free. when I came in to talk to her i thought my money situation was clear, we're not hot on cash and it's not going to be that way for a while. she charges about forty dollars a sesh, me and my parent paid eighty together for a "double-session", which she said would help me make this move faster.

at first i thought she could've been making a move on me, I sensed some strange atmosphere. she told me all this information very fast and next time I think I will have to bring sticky notes. Problem is, all I need is a prescription for testosterone. that's it. after our friendly introduction she gets real serious into continuously asking me if I'm worried a lot.

I replied numerous times I'm looking forward to my future and that's it. it seems this is all she's going to want to talk about, my feelings and my past and things I don't find relevant nor would I like to have them dug up. I asked her what we were going to do at therapy, until the six weeks or how long was up. She said I could ask her any question, any questions at all. This was an hour, hour and fifteen session, for eighty bucks. She wants me to come once a week, with a forty dollar fee per sesh.

That's not easy money for me or my roommates, who are supportive and accepting of my transitioning. this is bad, however, if I have to spend my therapy time to get T being psychoanalyzed. are all therapists this way?

[Guest Opal]

Hi Joey,

Yes, what she is doing is described in the 'Standards of Care' SOC document found elsewhere on this site. Actually, Forty dollars an hour is a really good rate. A lot of Therapists charge considerably more. I believe that part of the reason for the multiple sessions is to determine that it is highly unlikely that one has other issues going on that might impact their ability to rationally make such a life-changing decision.

Six weeks might seem like a long time, but usually the the Therapy sessions prior to making an HRT recommendation run three months or more.

Most people could be evaluated much quicker and problems never arise, but there have been a handful who go through the process, change their mind, go out and get an attorney who starts suing everyone involved. Thus, everyone suffers.

I do wish you the best on this. Stay strong!

Hugs,

Opal

[Guest StrandedOutThere]

All in all, it sounds like your therapist is pretty reasonable up to this point.

There are some standard questions that a lot of therapists are going to ask you. They are often looking for evidence that your gender identity issues are lifelong and not a short term response to some immediate trauma. Even if you have your "ducks in a row", so to speak, most responsible therapists wouldn't be willing to write you a T letter without asking questions about your past and current functioning, which would include feelings and past experiences. You have to consider that the therapist is putting themselves at risk, at least in some fashion, by writing a T letter. As Opal pointed out, if someone starts to transition and then decides it is a horrible mistake, they could potentially hold the therapist responsible and sue. Lawsuits of this kind make things harder on other transgender people down the line because fewer therapists would be willing to work with us.

Informed consent clinics will give T prescriptions without counseling, but I imagine even some of those have some hoops to jump through before you can have it, particularly if you are under 21. I went through an informed consent clinic, but I still did the counseling anyway because I wanted to be sure I was doing the right thing. This is a HUGE decision. Testosterone brings about some changes that aren't reversible. It's never a bad thing to have an impartial third party ask you a few questions, just to be certain.

Also, $40 is not bad for therapy sessions with a therapist in private practice. In fact, it's about half the standard rate for a master's level psychologist. You could find a mental health clinic in your area with a sliding fee scale if the $40 is still too steep.

I can't comment on whether your therapist is a good one or not. There are bad therapists. Some may mean well but simply lack the skills to be effective with some clients. However, ALWAYS check that your therapist is licensed with the state you live in. You can usually do this online. If your therapist is licensed then you can at least be assured that he or she has met some minimum standard of training.

[Drea]

Therapists provide, well for lack of a better word, therapy. They won't take with you for 15 and hand you a referral for a script.

Therapy is a process and isn't there solely for transition guidence or referrals. There are many other issues that tend to come along with it. Often it is those other issues that are more devastating to ones ability to cope and fuction than the gender issue itself. Therapy, if taken seriously, can be instrumental in making progress with those issues.

Having said that, I recognize the financial issues. As others have said, the rate charged for therapy is very fair. Generally I would expect 3 or 4 times that amount. Not only is the individual session inexpensive but the person seems to suggest that only 6 weekly sessions before giving a referral for hormones. Many would not for 12 sessions.

Then again, what happens then? When the therapist gives the referral?

Therapy as a process typically goes for years. If one has one simple issue it may be limited. That is rarely the case.