Practical Info About Therapists

[Guest Samantha1]

I have some generic questions about Gender Therapists,

starting with roughly what would a visit cost,

how often you could expect to go,

money's really tight right now, but I'm expecting that

to change in the spring, and for something important,

I could find the money, if I knew what I needed to budget.

The other side of that, is I've kind of really bottled up

a lot things, none of it successfully, but none of it totally

unsuccessfully either (if that makes sense) - so if I do get

over the hurdles, and summon up enough courage to walk into

an office, what can I expect? I can be extremely evasive,

when I don't feel comfortable, and this does not seem like

a situation I would be at all at ease with. Of course the

other option is humor, walk in shake the guys hand, say

"Hi Doc, you want to hear something funny?....." Anyways,I'm

trying to get some "nut and bolts" sense of what I'd be getting

into if I did something like going to a Gender Therapist.

[Carolyn Marie]

Samantha, you will find a lot of great info in the Therapy and Therapists sub-forum, here: http://www.lauras-playground.com/forums/index.php?showforum=54

Visits not covered by insurance cost anywhere from $75-150 per session, depending on location, whether government subsidized, and

many other factors. The number of sessions required also varies widely. The Standards of Care (SoC) recommends 12 sessions, but

they are guidelines only.

If you are evasive and not open with the therapist, they will know it, and you won;t make much progress. You will be wasting your money.

If you go, then be as honest and open as you can. Almost all of us were nervous and scared at first, but almost all discovered that

it is easy to talk to a therapist, and once the faucet is turned on, its hard to turn it back off again.

Read through the forum posts, and then if you have more questions, come back and ask.

Carolyn Marie

[Guest Deena]

I went to two female GT's because I Feel more

comfortable around women doctors. My GP is a female as well. You might want to consider sex of the therapist to ease your mind a little.

[Guest Samantha1]

I went to two female GT's because I Feel more

comfortable around women doctors. My GP is a female as well. You might want to consider sex of the therapist to ease your mind a little.

I picture a GP as a grey haired man that I see once a year, and he tells me to lose 30 pounds -well this year I did, so we're

covered there, but a female GT makes a whole lot of sense - that really would make a big difference, wouldn't it?

Can I ask why two GT's? I'm picturing one GT, 2 sessions a month, roughly six months to reach some formal conclusion,

then some follow-up sessions on a intermittent basis as things progress (there wouldn't be any surgery).

How does that compare to your experience, (in terms of your scheduled visits to the GT's)?

[Guest Samantha1]

I suppose it wouldn't matter, would it?

I'm in the Twin Cities, does any one have any positive experiences

with a Female Gender Therapist that they could recommend from

personal experience?

[Milly]

Pricewise. My therapist works with me, most would I think. I mean I could literally not afford 90 dollars an hour but she has worked with me on prices. What its like? Idk about anyone else but mine is so sweet, she just listens to me rant and asks me what I think etc. I've learned alot about myself. Its weird. But I love it. I hope my experience helps you a little :x

Like carolyn said, gotta be open or you're just wasting time and money. Not just yours but theirs. :x

[Guest Samantha1]

Like carolyn said, gotta be open or you're just wasting time and money. Not just yours but theirs. :x

I looked in the listings here, and found a female therapist who seems very active in this, and she like horses.

That's all I know about her. I emailed her with a one page introduction, that pretty much describes my life

from one perspective, and I gave her my blog link, which would spell out my fantasy's from the other perspective,

so what she knows about me is everything. I've asked if she would take me on. I haven't heard back, but I just

did that yesterday.

It's really not any more scary than jumping out of a plane, and I've done that before.

[Guest sarah f]

Samantha the price Carolyn gave you is a pretty good measure of what to expect. You might get one cheaper then $75 but what do you get with that. I just love mine and can't imagine where I would be without her. She is amazing. I hope you can find one as good as mine. Good Luck

[Guest Samantha1]

I contacted someone by email and never got a response - so that's not

a very good way to seek out a Gender Therapist (well Duh, Samantha).

I'm going to hold off until January to actually make the call,

that gives me about a month to actually learn some things.

In the mean time, if you have had experiences with a therapist

in the Twin Cities who is especially effective, let me know

Thanks, Samantha1

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Honey - if you have sources - go ahead and call. It took five weeks for my therapist to work me in!

Just a heads up!

Lizzy

[Milly]

I contacted someone by email and never got a response - so that's not

a very good way to seek out a Gender Therapist (well Duh, Samantha).

I'm going to hold off until January to actually make the call,

that gives me about a month to actually learn some things.

In the mean time, if you have had experiences with a therapist

in the Twin Cities who is especially effective, let me know

Thanks, Samantha1

Call asap, took me a month to get into my first appointment. I emailed and it took her a week to respond but she did. Give it time k hon?

[Guest Orva26]

Hiya Samantha!

I contacted someone by email and never got a response - so that's not

a very good way to seek out a Gender Therapist (well Duh, Samantha).

I'm going to hold off until January to actually make the call,

Exact thing that happened to me. And it just exacerbated things. I was left with the question of why I wasn't getting a response which in my mind is worse than receiving a negative one. Anyway I only lasted a week before I had to call her. My mind was entrapped in circular logic and I felt like that mythic character that was damned to the punishment of rolling a boulder up a hill only to have it reappear on the bottom again.

But after calling her, and not really even getting into the issue, merely just admitting I was unsure of my gender identity I got something priceless, the knowledge that there is someone on the planet that I could go and talk to in person about all this. If you want more of a description I did post a topic about it here.

You might be nervous about the call, I know I was. The week I did hold out for was full of anxiousness. But I really think you should just take the plunge!

Good luck!

-Orva

[Guest Samantha1]

Thanks you all,

I'm really nervous about this, but honestly resources are the significant factor

as to why I'm holding off until January. I'm switching careers, so I'm in Tech.

School right now - I saved enough to pay for that, but I can't touch that money

and cross the finish line. I need to find some part-time work and set aside

most of that money for this. I should be working anyways, but not doing what

I was doing in my last career.

I'll make the call, that puts things back in my hands, where they belong.

I'll have the money in hand, and a trash can by my side (just in case), and

they'll say "For you honey, we'll see you in 5 weeks" and I'll chuckle and

think "Well I was warned".

Thanks for the heads up

Samantha1

[Guest Deena]

I forget to check my posts so this is late but I went to a female GT because I didn't think I could ever talk to a man about this stuff. She knew i was TG right off pretty quickly. So quickly in fact that it scared me a little. She would wouldnhave oven me a letter but I stopped seeing her. There was nothing wrong with her either. I guess I am pretty easy to figure out. So, anyway I went to another female GT who was seriously more qualified but she came to the same conclusion (or she allowed me to come to the conclusion myself) which is what they do. I would expect to pay about $100 an hour or more if younlibe in a big city but less if younlibe in the country. A month seems like a long time to wait tonhear back IMO.

D

[Guest Deena]

I went to her every week for a month and then cut back a little. The first few times you talk you usually have somany things to talk about you never stop talking but as you go more, you start to talk more about how you would cope with this or that or how would you react to this or how do you see yourself doing this or that etc. That's how it was with me anyway.