Jump to content
  • Welcome to the TransPulse Forums!

    We offer a safe, inclusive community for transgender and gender non-conforming folks, as well as their loved ones, to find support and information.  Join today!

Interviewing a New Therapist Soon (Gender Therapist)


Davie

Recommended Posts

 

@Astrid

OK. Still nervous about it . . . but I do follow through on things so,

I've managed to get a GT appointment at Fenway Health: time and date and all that.

I expect she'll be asking a few questions, but what should I ask?

I googled her and she's young . . . hm, not so good.

And she's new . . . only two months into it.

Not sure of her trans experience . . . That's a good question, I'd say.

What else? Don't know.

My plan is to show up, be honest and open. And a few questions for her, too.

See you in August with new pronouns. Or not. Uncertainty wins the day.

— Davie

Link to comment

@Davie

4 hours ago, Davie said:

but I do follow through on things

 

Nice to hear the news about this! 

 

Following through is such an important way to maintain progress going on your journey.  Like many of the milestones we pass, we're more worried before we reach it -- followed by a reduction in stress when we realize that reaching that milestone both helped us and buoyed our confidence.

 

If you haven't been to Fenway Health before, I think you'll find it very supportive.  Your GT there may be young, but I'm very sure she wouldn't have been hired unless she's well qualified within the field of gender therapy, not just therapy.  Within two months, at six to eight appointments per day, she'll already have worked with a wide range of patients.  But you'll soon be able to judge if it's a good fit.  Some folks do move on to another therapist, and that's fine.

(One of the best medical decisions I ever did was to 'fire' my male (and gender insensitive) PCP and find a female PCP (at the same office!) who had interned at Fenway Health during her rotations.)

 

4 hours ago, Davie said:

I expect she'll be asking a few questions, but what should I ask?

 

It's perfectly fine to ask her that directly within the first meeting or two:  "What should I ask?", and her answer will help guide you.

 

Particularly early on, I expect she'll want to get to know your story, for as far back and in such detail as you wish to share.  So you'd be talking more than asking.  

 

I know that I jotted down a moving list of questions that seemed important to me, and had them available in my purse in case I needed to refer to them.  

 

And remember, the goal is not to have her assess you and declare you to be [insert label here].  It's for you to become fully aware of all the myriad possibilities that there are on the gender spectrum, for you to consider which one(s) seem to fit you best, but to mainly be a happier person, no matter how you express yourself.  

 

Good to hear that you're going to a good place! ?

 

Best wishes!

 

Astrid

 

 

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Astrid said:

@Davie

 

Nice to hear the news about this! 

 

Following through is such an important way to maintain progress going on your journey.  Like many of the milestones we pass, we're more worried before we reach it -- followed by a reduction in stress when we realize that reaching that milestone both helped us and buoyed our confidence.

 

If you haven't been to Fenway Health before, I think you'll find it very supportive.  Your GT there may be young, but I'm very sure she wouldn't have been hired unless she's well qualified within the field of gender therapy, not just therapy.  Within two months, at six to eight appointments per day, she'll already have worked with a wide range of patients.  But you'll soon be able to judge if it's a good fit.  Some folks do move on to another therapist, and that's fine.

(One of the best medical decisions I ever did was to 'fire' my male (and gender insensitive) PCP and find a female PCP (at the same office!) who had interned at Fenway Health during her rotations.)

 

 

It's perfectly fine to ask her that directly within the first meeting or two:  "What should I ask?", and her answer will help guide you.

 

Particularly early on, I expect she'll want to get to know your story, for as far back and in such detail as you wish to share.  So you'd be talking more than asking.  

 

I know that I jotted down a moving list of questions that seemed important to me, and had them available in my purse in case I needed to refer to them.  

 

And remember, the goal is not to have her assess you and declare you to be [insert label here].  It's for you to become fully aware of all the myriad possibilities that there are on the gender spectrum, for you to consider which one(s) seem to fit you best, but to mainly be a happier person, no matter how you express yourself.  

 

Good to hear that you're going to a good place! ?

 

Best wishes!

 

Astrid

 

 

@Astrid Thanks so much. This couldn't be a better response. I feel better about the whole thing now. Change is always scary, yes. And I am more worried at the beginning. I love my old therapist, but she endorses this change, too. I'll keep you in the loop. "The crosswalk that felt like a cliff."

Deep breath. Onward.

hugs all,

Davie

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...

So . . . sadly, I said goodbye to my therapist of two years today. I really love Rachel and she really has helped my coming out and transition. And talked me down from traumatic situations this year. Bye bye, dear. 

 

And tomorrow I start with a gender therapist, that's also a change.

Is change good?

We'll see.

 

-- Davie

Link to comment

Congrats Davie

I know in California finding a TG whose cover under my M.I  is tough. So I am happy you have found someone,

Astrid is right; have questions, but more important is listen.

Good Luck

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

That is a big change Davie.  When i started going to a GT i found out how serious i was about simply being the person who had always been there hiding.  Best of luck.....enjoy!

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

Link to comment
2 hours ago, Charlize said:

i found out how serious i was about simply being the person who had always been there hiding.

 

Thanks, @Charlize

Yes, exactly the right question, but no hurry to answer it. I don't need it soon as much as I need it correct. "Hiding" that's scary, but I hope liberating and a chance at happiness.

I'll let you all know how it goes. Today is the first meeting.

Cheers,

Davie

Link to comment

OK. I had my GT therapy today.

So the post-therapized me: Still the same, I guess, but it went well. I don't have any previous GT to compare it to, but she answered my questions and hopes pretty well. Mostly, I like how open she is to my own strange story. It compared well with therapy I've had before. She seems well-versed in the gender process, though her experience is only a few months. I can always change my mind, but I made another appointment. I guess I'm on the road to somewhere, hopes up, thumb out . . . headed for Woodstock (The Trans Version).

Wish me luck . . . and identity.

-- Davie

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

Glad it went well. Having someone you feel is helping and listening is important. As with any relationship, it will take time to nurture. Thumbs up Woodstock (the Snoopy type ? )

Link to comment
2 hours ago, Davie said:

Mostly, I like how open she is to my own strange story.

 

@Davie That's good to hear! I'm not at all surprised to hear you say that...The staff is very accepting at Fenway.

 

And the more we all learn about each other's strange stories, the more common threads we encounter, and the less strange it may become.  

 

A wave and best wishes from 

 

Astrid 

Link to comment

Thanks @Astrid and @Shay for being with me in spirit today. Being in a supportive group like this takes the "alone-ness" out of things. Made me feel relaxed enough to be open to my own story—and that made for a meaningful experience. I even cried a little at one point—surprised myself. And then I got to share about it later at the Fenway Trans Zoom meeting. My trans story is beginning to feel integrated into my life now. Apparently, I'm not some freak accident of nature after all. ?

hugs,

Davie

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

You are ABSOLUTELY not a freak accident of nature. You are an incredibly talented person living at the right time and place and sharing your hopes and dreams and talents with those who need you.

Hugs

Heather

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Who's Online   4 Members, 0 Anonymous, 101 Guests (See full list)

    • Karen Carey
    • April Marie
    • Betty K
    • MaybeRob
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      80.5k
    • Total Posts
      767.2k
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      11,942
    • Most Online
      8,356

    taxicab
    Newest Member
    taxicab
    Joined
  • Today's Birthdays

    1. Amyjay
      Amyjay
      (58 years old)
    2. bettyjean
      bettyjean
    3. Breanna
      Breanna
      (52 years old)
    4. Emily Ayla
      Emily Ayla
    5. JET182
      JET182
  • Posts

    • Susan R
      Love it! This is great news. We need more of this to combat the excessive hate-filled rhetoric and misinformation. 👍
    • Susan R
      The experience was the same for me @April Marie. I slept much deeper and I woke up each morning feeling so much more restful sleeping with forms solidly in place. For me, wearing breast forms at night started when before I was a teenager. I had no access up to modern breast forms and certainly no way to buy mastectomy bras back then. I wore a basic bra my mom had put in a donation box and two pairs of soft cotton socks. I have some crazy memories of things I did in my youth to combat my GD but regardless, these makeshift concoctions helped me work through it all.   All My Best, Susan R🌷
    • awkward-yet-sweet
      Colorado isn't exactly a Republican place, and won't become one anytime soon.  I think those folks might be better off not spending their time playing Don Quixote.    We certainly have our share of California "refugees" moving into where I live, so I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing Coloradans too.  I suspect the trend over the next few years will see the blue areas getting more blue and the red areas getting more red as anybody who can relocate tries to find a place where they fit better.   
    • awkward-yet-sweet
      Well, at least it'll be a place some folks could choose.  Options are a good thing.
    • awkward-yet-sweet
      My family would have gobbled that jar up in a minute or two.  When we do have pickled herring, its usually for Christmas.  I didn't grow up with that particular dish, but I grew up in a Greek family so I like just about any kind of fish if I can get it.  However, ocean fish and freshwater fish taste so different.  We usually have more catfish and tilapia to eat than anything else.    What I can't quite get used to is the tons of cabbage my GF insists on eating.  When you live with a Russian, there is always cabbage soup.  Always.  When I first moved in with her, breakfast was "shchi" for soup and either bread or "kasha" which is a bowl of boiled buckwheat with butter and salt.  Those dishes can be made in any number of ways, some are better than others.  In the winter, it can even be salty and sour like kraut.  Not exactly sauerkraut, but packed in tubs with vinegar and salt so it keeps partially for the winter.  But I drew the line when the cabbage soup included pieces of fried snake one day.  😆
    • Ashley0616
      Good evening to you as well @Mmindy   That is awesome that you have support from her side. My dad has communicated with me once and that was because he was forced to. His new wife wanted to spend time with my kids. He hated me so much he was in the process of taking my rights away as a parent to my two boys. He was talking to a lawyer and I called him out on it. I don't love him at all. I'll respect him because I wouldn't be here without him but I wished I had another father. My uncles don't talk to me and unfriended me on Facebook. Almost all cousins except for two are still Facebook friends but they don't give me any support. My mom said she won't support me with that but she has said that she loves me. I have nieces and nephews that are still Facebook friends but they have yet to talk to me. I have one sister that supports me out of three. The other's disrespect me by deadnaming me. They have never called me their sister. I think for them they think it's still a phase. They don't ask questions about me being trans. I have to bring it up and on the look of their faces they don't look comfortable about it. 
    • Mmindy
      Good evening @Ashley0616,   I just got offline with HP tech support trying to get my printer tool box icon locked to my tool bar. This is one of the most important features of my printer that I like because it keeps track of ink, paper, and scanned documents. I'm diffidently not a computer geek.   I'll catch up with the other bookmarks next week. We leave to go home for the Easter Holiday with our families. Saturday with her side, and Sunday with my side. What's odd about that is I'm out to more of her side and they're reluctantly supportive. My side on the other hand are less supportive, and my sister just under me in age will not acknowledge my being there. She will be constantly moving to keep from dealing with me. I'm dead to her.   Hugs,   Mindy🌈🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋  
    • Ashley0616
      I used to follow baseball and the team I would cheer for is Boston Red Sox. My favorite player was Papi. He was an awesome guy and even held a child during the National Anthem. I haven't watched baseball for a long time. It just died off to me. 
    • Ashley0616
      That stinks that nothing transferred, and no bookmarks were saved! 
    • Ashley0616
      I'm doing patches for now but I think soon I'll go to shots because it's hard to alternate when you are doing two xx patches at once. Unless she gives me Estradiol and progesterone
    • Sally Stone
      Go Cleveland Guardians!  I love baseball and I loved playing it when I was younger.  
    • Sally Stone
      My view is we are "dependent" on government, because as a society, we are too lazy to stay actively involved. So, we let politicians do our bidding for us.  I think we'd be in a better place government wise if we policed the actions of our politicians.  We elected them; they work for us.  Sadly, we are allowing them to run amok.  We are where we are because we have chosen to let politicians make all decisions without us.  Remember "by the people, for the people?" That was the intent of our democracy.  Today, however, it is "by the politicians, for the politicians," the people be damned. 
    • Mmindy
      "Play Ball! Batter Up!" is the closing line of the National Anthem as far as I'm concerned. It's the call of the Home Plate Umpire and signals the start of the game. I grew up in the TV and Radio broadcast of the St. Louis Cardinals. Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Tim McCarver, and Mike Shannon, were the voices on my transistor radio. KMOX 1120 AM pushing 50,000 watts of Class A clear-channel non-directional signal. It could be picked up all across MO, IL, IN to the East. KS, OK, CO to the West. IA, MN to the North, and KY, TN, AR to the South. There has always been a rivalry against the Chicago Cubs, in the National League. As for the American League, I have to pull for the Kansas City Royals. I've also been a Little League Umpire, and fan of everything the Little League stands for. Going to Williamsport, PA and seeing the Little League World Series is in my top 10 things to do on my bucket list.   Mindy🌈🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋
    • Mmindy
      Good evening everyone,   I don't think my mother ever cooked a meal that I didn't like. We also had a kitchen where mom fixed the food, dad filled your plate, and you eat it. It wasn't until our baby brother was born that we could have Pop-Tarts for snacks. Before that all snacks had to meet mom's approval, and in her opinion wouldn't prevent you from eating supper.   Well my day started off on a good note, but has become frustrating because my IT person didn't transfer my saved videos I use for teaching. Then I found out that they didn't save any of my book marks for websites I use frequently.   Best wishes, stay motivated,   Mindy🌈🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋
    • MaeBe
      The number is relative to method of deliver, the time of the dose, and when the blood is drawn. However, I do want to keep away from DVT and other potential issues. I assume I may be getting backed down from my current dose, but my doc told me to stick with the higher dose, so? I also wonder if this has anything to do the my breast growth and mental changes that have been happening over the past few years, like I have some estrogen sensitivity so a little goes a long way or something? I don't have enough data to postulate, but who knows!   With weekly, subcutaneous, shots you expect to see big swings of serum level estradiol from shot to peak to trough. My doctor is interested in mid-week testing (for E and T levels only), which would be post-peak blood serum levels but they will be higher than trough. Most, if not all, resources I've seen online is to measure at trough (which I might do just to do it next time) along with a SHBG, LH, and other metrics.   This is from transfemscience.org for Estradiol valerate in oil, which is very spiky compared to some other estradiol combinations. It's also for intramuscular, which will have a slower uptake and is usually dosed in higher volume due to the slower absorption rate from muscles. They don't have subcutaneous numbers, which I would expect to see similar spikes but higher levels at similar doses due to the relatively higher absorption rate direct from fat.   Are you doing pills, shots, or patches? And when you do get your levels checked are you getting that done when your levels are lowest or some other time?
  • Upcoming Events

Contact TransPulse

TransPulse can be contacted in the following ways:

Email: Click Here.

To report an error on this page.

Legal

Your use of this site is subject to the following rules and policies, whether you have read them or not.

Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
DMCA Policy
Community Rules

Hosting

Upstream hosting for TransPulse provided by QnEZ.

Sponsorship

Special consideration for TransPulse is kindly provided by The Breast Form Store.
×
×
  • Create New...