Okay just thought I should give a bit of forewarning based on my own experience. But if you live in south florida, unless you have a photographic memory, avoid going to Lisa Saponaro at all costs.
I'd been panicking for days about my first appointment, but today I was looking forward to it, and big disappointment for me personally.
You see, Dr Saponaro is of the breed of therapists who expect you to answer a million questions about every minute detail of your entire life. Unless you like that kind of therapist, I'd advice not to go to her.
She asked me things like, the process which led to me being diagnosed with aspergers, In Elementary School.
How exactly I felt when I helped to of my friends get over a fight and become friends again, In The Third Grade.
The things I liked about my friend Katelyn, In Fourth Grade.
How did the bullying start exactly, In The Fifth Grade.
Did you ever take any medications when first diagnosed with aspergers, and if so how did they effect you. Again, as I said, Elementary School.
The reasons for my parent's divorce, what do you mean by she's selfish, how exactly do you feel about your mother, what was she like before the divorce, 12 Years Ago.
You said you lived in new york till you were 2, what was that like. I was Two! lol
Walk me through every single detail of the day you realized you were trans, where were you, why did you think he meant that, how long had you been talking with the person, was it a group chat, did they start it or did I, did it start with just us and then more people came. What?
??
What exactly do you not like about your body, exactly why do you not like the hair, you said it started growing later then others, did you go through puberty late.
What kind of things exactly did the bullys say to me in middle school and high school. How many people it was, what insults did they use or what did they do.
What year did I first start using female avatars on websites, what forums do you go on, what are they for, what kind of things are done on them, when did you first play a video game where you played as a female character, why did you like that better, what connected you to the character, what lesbian characters do you like the most on tv, describe them to me, describe why you feel a connection to them.
Did you go to pre school..
What the heck does all of that have to do with anything?! Even the questions actually related to being trans aren't needed. And I was so uncomfortable the whole time, and most of my answers were I don't know, I don't remember, cause c'mon, and I asked if we could do this another way and she said no this is how she gets to know how her patients minds work.
Oh and then the kicker, she doesn't sign off on starting hormones until she knows a patient perfectly, a process which she says can take up to 3 years.
So yeah, never going to her again.
Just thought you all should know, maybe put a warning label about the excessively detailed memory required in the therapist list or something.
