Online Gender Therapy

[Guest Areyan]

hi all

i've recently been through the gender therapist's list here at Laura's and i checked out the first one listed because it claimed to be a worldwide gender therapist who treats people online through a chat-based server to help us trans folk secure letters for hormone therapy and even surgery. this is the link to the therapist:

Online Gender Therapist

i'm really impressed with the claims this site makes. in fact, it almost seems too good to be true. i actually smell a rat whenever something seems this great so i'm asking today, please, if anyone here has actually been through this therapy and would share their experience here? i'm so skeptical of parting with my money online that i'm worried about being taken for a ride by fakes. the thing that concerns me about this site is not so much the claims of internationally recognized hormone therapy letters but the fact that this therapist has only shared testimonial of one very unsatisfied client that apparently attempted to hack his site. also, this site is being recommended by Laura's so i'd really like to find at least one person here who has used the service successfully.

i get sus about all kinds of things that dun add up but this really takes the cake. please, i'd like to know if anyone here has successfully used this service and got their letters AND that the letters stood up to international standards. i'd be more than upset if the medical folks here in kiwi-land did not recognize this doctor's letter and i'd wasted upwards and over NZD$700 just to get a phoney letter.

cheers,

Rey

[Sally]

I understand your concerns about anything online - I am sorry that I cannot answer your question as I have never used an on line therapist.

I hope someone comes along soon who has used this service and can let you know just how much help this can be.

Love ya,

Sally

[Guest Donna Jean]

.

Rey...

Honey, I can assure you that it is valid. That would be Dr. Graham Peveller...

I know of two girls from this site that got SRS letters form him and obtained the surgery...also several here got their HRT letters letters from him....he is valid and his letters are valid and accepted.

Many people that live in outlying areas use a service like this...also others that have anxiety problems...

It does work..

Huggs

Donna Jean

[Drea]

I can't comment on this specific provider. There are a few things I can note in a more general sense.

First, the gender therapists list is just that, a list. While getting a therapist for dealing with this is highly recommended, that list is just a list that has been compiled from various sources. I do not believe that means Laura's specifically endorses those therapists listed.

There are a few things stated on the site that I take exception to. The site tries to say that chat based therapy is no worse than face to face and perhaps even better due to the annominity. It says:

With online counseling, whether written or spoken it is the core component of communication. Whilst some may believe that communication is best achieved through face to face interaction and verbal exchanges, there is in fact little evidence, if any, to back this;

It is well established that tone and body language are large parts of communication. That when you get down to the written word, the total content of the communication is only about 20% of what there is in face to face communication. It is very hard to differentiate emotion and attitude from the typed word. The impression one gets from the written word is often subject one projecting their own perceptions to those words.

I just can't imagine chat based therapy as having much value as true therapy. I also have serious questions as to how a therapist can develop a good basis for diagnosis or decisions about giving approval letters as one can pretty much represent themselves as they wish though I suppose such may require one to supply name change papers, copy of ID after change to establish things such as RLE.

Having said all that, if one just wants a referral letter, there are those who have gotten referrals for hormones and surgery even using an online therapist and they have been accepted by providers. So if one is concerend only about getting those letters, an online therapist can be a lower cost option.

Some of the numbers I have heard from online therapists were in the $20 to $30 range, but that was second hand. When it gets up to $45 it seems pricey to me given the limits of chat format therapy.

For example, if a therapist charges $100 per session but only requres 3 sess

[Guest JaniceW]

I have not used the specific therapist you mentioned but I have used on-line therapy. If the chat media is comfortable to you then on-line therapy can work quite well. I was very pleased with the results of my on-line therapy sessions. I did, eventually, switch to face-to-face therapy locally but that was to gain the additional benefits of face to face and with dealing with a therapist who was local and could provide me with referrals to other local professionals as I would need their services along the way. My swtich was not due to any feeling of dissatisfation with on-line therapy.

As Drea said, there is the missing element of being face to face in the same room wiht your therapist, but if the chat media is a comfortable way of communication to you then you should get some very effective results from the on-line venue.

[Guest Donna Jean]

.

I also highly recommend real "eye to eye" therapy.....

But, "Online Therapy" on this sites page is what Rey specifically asked about and that is what my answer is based on.

Donna Jean

[Guest Areyan]

hi all

thank you all for your responses. i also emailed Dr. Peveller and received a very courteous and helpful reply, regarding questions about his services.

Donna Jean - thank you for the reassurance that other trans folk here have had successful outcomes with Dr. Peveller. i found him to be very polite in his response and he seems keen to help me with all aspects, including ensuring his letters would be acceptable in my country.

i will let you all know how it goes as although USD$40 per session will still cost me a bit in new zealand dollars, this would cost me a lot more here in NZ to see a psychiatrist for the same information because i would have to travel to another city for appointments and pay all the costs associated with that. i was keen to do online therapy to start with because of this difficulty so thanks again for the info everyone.

regards,

Rey

[Guest barton]

I've used their services to get my HRT letter, so he is legit. But if I had had the money to get a different therapist, I totally would have done it. Yes, he's cheap but he can also be extremely hard to understand (in that some of his sentences make no sense) and makes typos frequently. If you're good at trying to reason out what people are saying, it's not too bad but it was frustrating. We also never really covered much in our sessions, with most of the time being spent waiting for his replies. He also frequently got me mixed up with this another FtM, often asking how my relationship with my girlfriend was going (i'm single and like guys).

If you know who you are and have a good idea how you want to progress with transitioning or whatever, then Peveller's a good, cheap way to get your letters with minimum fuss. But if you have things you really want to get into or need to work through, I recommend seeing someone else. But that's just my opinion, based on my experience with him.