Your Experience With A Therapist?

[King Malachite]

I touched on this in my blog last month but I have found a legit online therapist and I am scheduled to meet with her next week on the 16th.  I've paid for the session already and I'm excited about it.  I'm not too sure what to expect though and I know everyone's experience is different but I was wondering what type of things your therapist discussed with you and what was your experience like?  How often did yall meet and how long did it take for you personally to obtain your letters of recomendation?  Do you still keep in contact with your therapist?  Also do you guys have any advice or tips that could help me?

Thanks in advance guys!

[Robert Scott]

I love my therapist!  Being forced to attend therapy b/c of stupid standards I was glad I found the one I did.  She was very laid back.  My first session was more an overview of what she had to offer me and her experience with transgender clients.  Then we covered what I wanted from therapy - I said I want a letter.  The next session we went through the requirements for what is needed to start hormones and what is needed in the letter for the doctor.  We more or less wrote the letter then.  She only requested that we have a couple visits after I started hormones just to make sure I was handling it well. 

Now, I ended up spending eight months with her -- b/c I have been with my wife for 10 years and my transistion was a big game changer.  So it was us working through the changes --- on a positive note I have been on hormones for eight months - had a name change and changed my gender on my driver's license and we are still together so counseling helped.

I do keep somewhat in contact with her - the transgender community is small and her brother is trans.  Plus I haven't scheduled my top surgery yet and need her to write the letter when I choose a doctor.  I have the money for it - just haven't done it yet

[aleon515]

I just started seeing one and I am super impressed with him. The interesting thing is that he is trans and very active in Pride, etc.

I am not really seeing him for letters so much, though if I need them that will be useful. I just feel very confused and upset about what's going on with me. I just started seeing him so I don't know but I think it will be helpful.

One thing I would say as someone with lots of experience with therapists (though not gender therapists) is that there are probably as many bad ones as good ones, and lots in between. If someone is not helping you do not stick around. Therapy can do damage if done poorly.

Good luck.

--Jay Jay

[Ayden]

My therapist was great. Our meetings were through the net too, and it was wonderful to be able to meet with someone since there was literally not a single therapist in Alaska that would meet with me. My therapist was not just a gender therapist but worked with a varied client base so she had experience dealing with a lot of different issues, which was awesome.


We discussed just about everything. I was seeing her to get my hormone letter but we didn't just stick to trans issues. We basically went through my life to start with, and talked about somethings that were not exactly comfortable, but we also talked about my classes, life goals and even things like hobbies and favorite things. She felt more like a friend than my therapist. I don't keep in touch with her, but its mostly because of the time difference with her being half way around the world. When I was seeing her, I talked to her every week until I got my letter and once I started hormones it was every two weeks until I left the country.


My only advice is if you feel a connection with your therapist, be honest. Not every therapist is suited to every person, so don't force a connection. If it happens though, awesome! A good therapist may ask you questions that make you squirm, but they will also be sympathetic and they will generally leave you with some food for thought.

[Justin 21]

not sure if i can help i only needed to go to one visit with my theripist, he was nice and just made sure i knew what to expect from treatment, and that i wasn't a depressive person, he signed the paperwork i shook his hand and left. that was it, now i start treatment in 2 days ,


good luck with your apointment

[Natkat]

Well my therapist experience been bad,
my only real reason to go was to gain permission. Its sucks because where I live you cant just pick anybody, it has to be this or that, and those people you can choose are stucked with old fashion styles on how real men and women should be and generally very unconfortable to talk with.

I tried to go to another therapist (because my mom wanted me to) alittle later, she couldnt send me letters or do anything usefull in those terms but my mom thought it would be good for me emotionally to have someone to talk too so she made me give it a try, She was so far the best i had pretty sweet even if I didnt feel 100% satified with her, But even when she was sweet I still cant get pass those bad experience and general those jugment system on when or when not you get permission, so it didn't really help me emotionally it just felt like waste of money and time.

Sorry to make like depression post on this,^^
But theres sure also bad therapist as well as there is good. I hope you find one who is sweet and understandable for trans issues.

[Once-ler]

The gender specialist/therapist I met recently approved me for hormones within the first visit.
She was super friendly, and she said I passed very well, and that if she didn't know I was born a girl, she would have never guessed. (I pass really well for not being on T)

She asked questions such as; how or when did I know? Who am I attracted to? Do I think I'll change my mind?
and just a lot of random conversation about life and stuff.

And so I should be starting T in the next few months. c:

Also note that some therapists aren't prepared to handle gender issues.
I had a therapist when I was in high school who kept trying to convince me I was too cute to be a boy.

[go..ogle]

She asked basic life questions, about my childhood, schooling, family-life. We would talk about my week in general, what brought me to therapy - what was I hoping to achieve? Why? My perception of myself, goals, etc. How long have I viewed myself as male? How long had I presented as male? Those types of questions would last a whole session sometimes.

It was a very positive experience. She was very insightful and helped me through many rough experiences.

I met with her every two weeks for about four months. After that it became monthly..I didn't receive a letter of any kind. After my first session she gave me the contact info of a doctor who could help me with hormone therapy. She said if the doctor asked, to mention her name - that was it. I didn't get in to see the doctor until three months later though.

I haven't seen this particular therapist for a few months now because it's too far from where I'm living.

In general I suggest you answer as honestly as possible as the goal (for me anyway) was to become comfortable with my life and I learned early on in life lying only brought about more despair. This approach worked well for me. I'm 8 months on T today
I'll be receiving my BA in three semesters& am so much more confident in many areas though I'm struggling with outting myself in some situations so I may find a therapist nearby for insight on how to navigate.

Good luck )

[King Malachite]

I wanted to thank you guys for your responses!  I just got done with my first therapy session not too long ago and it was good!  We talked about a lot of stuff  like what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go with everything.  She says with the kind of timeline I have it's best to meet every three months.  I was told that I'm also a food addict which isn't too surprising for me so I will try to manage that a bit more.

Again thanks everyone!