Thinking of switching therapists

[LaurenA]

I've been seeing a therapist for several months now.  It was through working with her that I discovered my gender confusion.  We've worked on it and have made some progress.  In our last session I asked her about her qualifications and experience with transgender.  She admitted that she had no specific training, had only a couple clients that were LGBTQ, but was comfortable if I decided to see someone else.  We work well together but I beginning to wonder if I would be better off seeing someone more experienced with transgender and had access to more resources.

One of my difficulties in finding someone else is I need them to accept Medicare.  I think I may have just found a place that might.  It's called the Inclusion Health Clinic and they're associated with the medical college in town.  They even have a health program for transgender.  The other difficulty right now is my unwillingness to be out in public during this period of high Covid-19 infections.  Being 70 and having an SO with a heart condition I don't want to take any chances.  I'm not sure if I can set things up without at least one in-person visit to one of their MDs,  And I do want to spend some time talking with them before I move on from my current therapist.

So, at the moment, I'm thinking of just sticking with the status quo until I can get vaccinated.  A few more month won't hurt.

[Jackie C.]

I'm actually in a similar situation. My regular therapist has no specific training as a gender therapist, but has several LGBTQ+ clients and considers herself an ally. We click really well though and I have more issues then my gender dysphoria. However, she couldn't sign off for more specific gender dysphoria treatments like my hormones so I had to go through Michigan Medicine (U of M) and their transgender program for that. While the gender therapists I've met through the program are lovely, I stick with my original therapist for week-to-week support.

 

I guess it depends on what your specific goals are and if your current therapist is helping. If she's helping you heal, I'd stick with her for that. If money is an issue though, you might try your luck with someone else. After all, if it doesn't work out with the new therapist, you can always go back.

 

Hugs!

[LaurenA]

It's not so much that money is an issue but that I've paid into Medicare for over 50 years and I want to get some of that back

At the moment the gender dysphoria seems to be the major issue which is why I thought of switching.  Maybe I can do both.  Have to talk to somebody in billing about that.