Cost Of Therapy And Some Other Questions

[Guest Orva26]

Hello,

I haven't been here too long and have sort of an uncommon situation. To sum it up quickly I've been having fantasies, often sexual about being/becoming a woman since about the age where one is able to have sexual fantasies. I've never really questioned my identity or had great grievances because of my born gender but at the same time I haven't really been psyched about being male. Since around mid-September I've begun questioning and seeking answer as to what these fantasies mean and have begun engaging in some light cross-dressing which I enjoy but does not on its own arouse me. I've come to this site to read articles and act as a lurker several times but did not join up until earlier in the week. Once I did, I posted a topic over in Introductions that really details things about me and asked for advice. The advice that I was given was that I should seek a GT and I'm thinking that would be a good idea and would like to do it soonish... might have to wait a while to establish myself at work and stuff, might not even get done this year but it is something I want to do. I think I have a kind of unique opportunity to explore myself and see if these fantasies and the fact that I am not really productive in pursuing a "normal" relationship have any deeper meaning since I am starting a new job and moving to a new state and I don't want to pass this opportunity by. But I have a few major concerns:

1) Cost of the therapy. I am an individual who has never seen a therapist before so the cost and billing aspect of as well as everything else is completely alien to me. I will be living in the United States in a New England state so if there is a user who has undergone therapy in that area and they feel comfortable explaining to me the financial aspect of it that would be awesome. Insurance is another issue completely as I will be switching to a company provided plan and will have to learn if this type of service would be covered in addition to having to worry about people noticing it.

2) The reaction of the GT to my situation. From the research I've done, which is by no means extensive, and from reading the HBSOC one of the larger points seems to be how the issue of gender identity has nothing to do with sex or sexuality. Well for me it does, personally I think that the fantasizing might just have been a non-risk way of coping as it is pretty much impossible to catch someone doing it, but I'm afraid a GT that is really strict with the HBSOC will treat the issue in a dismissive manner. Or that it will sent off all sorts of alarms in their mind saying, "There's no way this person has a gender issue!" Has anyone else been in a similar case or even just talked with a GT about things that are sexual in nature?

I guess the last point is that I'm just a bit nervous about actually doing it and what the results will be. I'm going to have to suck it up though since the more I try to figure out with introspection the more I end up, Pretty much all I've gotten so far is that I want to give some more extensive dressing a try.

I will be grateful for any wisdom that you fine folks can give to me and apologize for the lengthy post.

-Orva

[Guest ~Brenda~]

Start here hon

http://www.lauras-playground.com/gender_therapists.htm

All my love

Brenda

[Guest JaniceW]

Orva,

Brenda has given you the link to the therapist page. Just go to your new state and check out the listings. If you call any one of the therapists they will be happy to tell you exactly what their fee structure is. As for your health insurance, you will only know if that will cover things once you have the policy and the coverage listing from your employer.

I am using one of the on-line therapists and I find it very effective. Of course you have to be comfortable with chat type of communication but other than that we discuss everything we need to and my GT is very helpful in guiding me through my own thoughts and feelings. The other benefit of on-line therapy is that it is considerably less expensive than the face to face therapy.

Good luck of getting set up and starting the process of discovering who you really are.

[Guest Orva26]

I've looked at that list before but somehow I've managed to miss the therapist that will be literally ten minutes from where I'm going to live. That's just by car with it being a poultry 4 miles I could bike it no problem! It'll be a bit more expensive than online therapy but he covers the full LGBT spectrum which could be a plus as well. Realistically I should probably hold off until February so I can figure out how this will fit into my budget but if my first draft is good than I should be able to handle it provided it isn't an every week thing. I'll poke around his site more and see if it is as good of a fit as I think it will be.

Although attractive because of the lesser cost and the amenity I don't think I can do online therapy. Some of the stuff I want to discuss are things that only I and maybe one other soul on the planet know/remember, stuff I haven't even shared with parents and significant others, stuff that I most definitely do not want any kind of electronic imprint of. I understand that it can be good for people in remote areas but I feel that if I can't openly go to a therapist in person how will I work up the courage to do things like start hrt or go full time if I ever reach that point.

Also who should I PM about links being dead? I found the new sites and want them to get updated so people can use this great resource but I don't want to just list 'em here because I don't want to say what specific state I'll be moving to yet, I get silly about things like that.

[Carolyn Marie]

You should send a PM to Petra Jane with the list of innactive sites. Thank you.

Carolyn

[Guest Orva26]

Okay, I sent out the PM.

I'm probably going to have to contact the therapist directly to ask some questions but I've got to say the lining up of coincidences is staggering. I'm not one to place stock in fate but I get offered this job, decided to move, begin questioning things about myself, and then find out about a therapist that will be 10 minutes away.

Its almost as if the universe is trying to tell me all the questioning and desires I've had both recent and throughout time are okay.