In my opinion, I can't recommend Persad in Pittsburgh. I just spent months in treatment for nothing. My therapist couldn't remember from week to week what I had told her. There were acronyms in my records that the intake therapist wrote for psychiatric conditions that had been in my records for months and my therapist didn't know what they meant when I asked her about them. My therapist was too lazy to read anything I gave her, even brief things. I was routinely challenged in therapy sessions to "prove" that I was really a transgender woman. Other patients keep making the excuse that everybody is so overworked there that it justifies what is going on. Oh, and a number of trans patients, some with very serious mental health conditions were left for four months without a therapist after theirs went out on sick leave, only to never return. The patients weren't even told what was going on. You might also want to ask who is actually a member of WPATH at Persad? I left treatment and quit attending Persad after my therapist told me she thought my gender problem was caused by childhood sexual abuse, and that I wasn't really trans. Yes, she really said after supposedly talking to the supervising psychiatrist. The week before she told me I was transgender and that she would have approved me for hormones (I've already been on hormones for a year by another therapist prior to moving to Pittsburgh).
At one point during my treatment at Persad my therapist proclaimed that I was too young to be retired on disability (I've been on disability for nearly 10 years) and stated I should return to work and driving a car. I don't drive a car due to a medically documented neurological problem. The therapist didn't believe me about the neurological problem that causes seizures and demanded to have my medical records. So I signed a release. The records arrived and proved I was telling the truth and that the therapist was a misguided idiot that was playing God with my life and financial livelihood.
Here's what well-known trans psychologist Anne Vitale had to say about being transgender because of past sexual abuse:
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"Dear XXX"
"Rather than step on anyone's toes, I will restrict my comments to generalities. To the best of my knowledge there has never been a study that showed that gender dysphoria was the result of parental maladjusted raising or childhood trauma of any kind. On the contrary there are many studies that show gender dysphoria to be the result of hormonal disruptions at critical times in utereo. I don't have time to get into that here but that data is available in my book "The Gendered Self" or by googling names such as J-N Zhou, L. Gooren, D. F. Swaab and F. M. Kruijver."
"The other, more important point is that no matter what causes gender dysphoria, there is only one known treatment (HRT and optional surgery) and according to your statement that is already being employed."
"It is not uncommon for people with gender dysphoria to exhibit a spectrum of comorbidities. The important issue here is for the therapist treating the GD to separate out the talk treatable issues from the physically treatable GD."
"I hope this helps."
"Anne Vitale PhD"
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Anne Vitale PhD
Calif License #PSY15764
610 D Street
San Rafael CA 94901
http://www.avitale.comAuthor: The Gendered Self: Further commentary on the transsexual phenomenon
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If this is your idea of therapy in an old, cold rickety building, then have it!
