NHS psychologist appt

[Peep]

A while I asked my GP for a referral to a GIC and she referred me to a psychologist first. My meeting is tomorrow, and I was wondering if anyone else went this route on the NHS and what kind of questions etc they were asked? This is not a gender specialist as far as I'm aware, it's apparently to check that I don't have any other issues.

I'm pretty worried about this meeting because i feel like if i say the wrong thing they won't let me proceed any further/ will slow down my referral and I'm already looking at more than a years' wait for the first GIC appointment! The "unknown" element of any meeting also is really bad for my general anxiety. It would help me out to know roughly what to expect (even if you didn't transition on the NHS).

[Elis]

I didn't go this route but they're most likely to ask about your general history, what was school like, when you felt this way, how your family is. I went to a gender therapist and this is what she asked me first. Btw, I also worried about saying the wrong thing and not being 'trans enough' for them. A competent therapist will know that it is ultimately our decision and if we have some sort of discomfort in our current assigned gender then we're most likely on the trans spectrum.
You'll be fine, good luck

[kira21 ♡♡♡]

I did.  They said it was a waste of time,  which is why they cut the necessity for the step, but as they left it as an option,  some idiots still insist on it. Of course they would sign my form.  Diagnosis is is of gender issues at this stage is the question  'do you have gender issues?'... Pointless.

[Peep]

I did.  They said it was a waste of time,  which is why they cut the necessity for the step, but as they left it as an option,  some idiots still insist on it. Of course they would sign my form.  Diagnosis is is of gender issues at this stage is the question  'do you have gender issues?'... Pointless.

Yeah this is exactly how I feel but I didn't think arguing with my GP was a good idea. She hadn't actually read the guidelines, but she still referred me to psych. I got my psychologist appointment fairly quickly though, if it had taken longer I would have gone back and asked to skip this step or self-referred to a different GIC.

I also kind of feel that the more people I talk to early on the more evidence I have that I've started living 'in role' Might help with the RLE?

I'm hoping it'll be short and sweet like the GP...

[Matthew]

The psychologist trip should just be a psych evaluation - looking to see if you're likely to harm yourself or have any other mental illnesses before being referred to a GIC. It should only take one session of some quizzes and a chat, so don't worry too much.

[Peep]

Thanks for your replies - it was more detailed than i was expecting, and so i wasn't very coherent not being prepared, but other than that it seemed ok. The psychologist also seemed to think that i was overestimating wait times so maybe things are better than i thought.

[kira21 ♡♡♡]

Your consultants information is out of date.  Waiting times are climbing all the time by lots.  Figures are published.

[Peep]

yes I know, that's what I told them, but it seems like the system in the area I'm in is changing slightly - to extend the reach of the clinics into rural areas - and maybe I'm literally the only person on this arm of the system? i got my psychology referral very fast (it's a general mental health team and i've heard people with depression waiting six times as long as I did) and I have my next appt pretty soon too.

The stats I read for NHS waiting times were from something like June or July last year. Are there any figures for this year?

I've also read the guidelines (also from 2012 or something like that) that say they aim to have people in gender identity therapy within 18 weeks - maybe that's why they think 14 months is too long, and maybe they'll be proven wrong... I'm just clinging onto the hope that i'll be lucky. i'm entirely expecting it to slow down further on when it comes to surgery etc.

[kira21 ♡♡♡]

July stats are the latest as I understand it.  You can expect waiting times to have climbed since then tho. They have done nothing but climb for ages.

18 week targets are not being met for us,  they have only just admitted that they should apply.

Further reading...

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,198448.msg1765397.html#msg1765397

[emma-f]

Yeah, I was sent to see a psych in Manchester before getting the GIC referral. Pretty pointless as I recall although it was a few years ago. Pretty much seemed an overview to ensure there wasn't something obvious (to a psych) that had been missed by the GP

[Peep]

July stats are the latest as I understand it.  You can expect waiting times to have climbed since then tho. They have done nothing but climb for ages.

18 week targets are not being met for us,  they have only just admitted that they should apply.

Further reading...

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,198448.msg1765397.html#msg1765397

I'm aware of all of this :)

What I got from the talk I had was that because there are so few GIC in the UK they're giving some of the responsibilities to mental health teams to extend the reach. I have no official info, and I wasn't 100% paying attention because I was very stressed, so see this as gossip only, but it feels like they're at least trying to cut down the wait times. I was expecting to be told that there's nothing they can do, NHS is always overburdened, etc, not that I should be more optimistic :P It was pretty much the only positive part of the meeting for me.