Therapy Help

[Guest Angelgrlsue]

I'm a new mtf transgender person and have been looking for a gender therapist in my area. Does it matter if the therapist is a Phd or a social worker? I found a therapist that works with transgender people but only has had two years experience with such. She is a social worker. My insurance is limited and she accepts the insurance I have. I really need to find a therapist soon, going through alot of troubling times right now and I've started taking narcotics to ease the emotional pain and depression I'm going through right now.

Suzie

[Sally]

You will need a PHD to write a letter for SRS, but not for a letter to the endo about hormones. You need two letters only one by a PHD! Go to this Social Worker - find out what her creditials are - she might be a big help to you. Certainly she is a whole lot better than no help!

My therapist is not a PHD, but when the time comes to get that second letter, she sill refer me to a PHD in the area and it will be little more than an interview unless I set off an alarm and after my time with my therapisy that is very unlikely!

Call her and set an appointment - be sure to talk to her about the drugs as well

Love ya,

Sally

[Guest CharliTo]

yup, I would agree with Sally on that one. Not only she can help you with therapies, but she could open up the door to other community groups where you can find guidance offline.

G'luck! Cali is a good state to be in usually. Lots of resources.

[Guest Martin]

If you like her and "click" with her, I suggest going to her and trying her out. She should be able to help you with a range of problems and should be able to write you the hormone letter and one of the SRS letters should you need them.

[Guest Angelgrlsue]

I just called the therapist I was talking about and I have an appointment next tuesday with her. Have a friend I will be staying with over the weekend that will keep me away from the drugs. Thank you girls.

Susan

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Word of caution - HRT and SRS are serious steps - and take a tremendous amount of work to achieve as you need to make certain they are appropriate options. Therapists are going to work you through all that anyway. Don't worry so much about this stuff now - and I don't blame you - HRT and SRS were on top of what I wanted to discuss with my terapist, too. In fact, in her mind she says thats one of the things that defines us as transsexual, our anxiousnes for hormones and surgery.

BUT the real point is qualified gender dysphoria therapists are rare. If you found a good social worker type that you like, go for it. My reseach showed they are generally accepted as suitable therapists in most states for transgender considerations. She will refer you to someone when the time comes for HRT and SRS if necessary. My psychologist is PhD - but she still had to give me a letter for HRT as she can't prescribe. It's a game of sorts, but you need to start the process - sooner than later - to get set on your journey .

Just an opinion - grin

Hey use narcotics cautiously, any dependancy will prolong your therapy as you need to be 100% clean before starting HRT - and the therapist WILL find out about any problems you have ouside gender dysphoria.

[Sally]

That is great news!

About the therapist and the friend!

See how many people care about you, isn't that a great feeling?

Susan, you are important to us and your health is important to us as well - obviously it is important to your friend as well - be strong!

Help is on the way and Tuesday isn't really all that far away!

Love ya,

Sally