How Often Do You See Your Therapist?

[SophiaBleu]

So, I have a gender therapist that I have been seeing for a while. Once I started hrt, the visits became less until now.  I haven't seen my therapist in almost 3 months.  I am feeling like I need to get back to my therapist for some brain dumping. 

So my question is for those that have a therapist.  How often do you see said therapist, and has it gotten less after starting hrt(or any part of transition).

[stephaniec]

once a week for 3 years and 2 times a week if I'm in crisis

[KathyLauren]

I had three sessions, a couple of weeks apart, with her until I got my HRT letter.  It's been three months since then.  I'll go back to see her when I get ready to go full-time, or sooner if something comes up before then.

[TonyaW]

Started September 1st and been going about every other week since.  Due to holidays it will be a month between the last and the next.  Have the HRT letter and appointment with MD in February.
Probably keep it to 3-4 weeks between now.  I like seeing her, I get to talk about me being me for an hour.  Haven't got any bills yet but did see the EOB from the insurance so going to cut back some. See how the emotions and the wife handle the hormones.

[Vinya]

I have had five evenly spaced visits to my therapist sins June.

[Michelle_P]

I was seeing my gender therapist for individual sessions about every 3 weeks until recently, and then monthly.  I also saw her monthly at group sessions.  The last two months group sessions were twice a month, for the holiday season effects on folks, I think.  Now after next week's individual session I'll just be doing monthly group sessions.  My therapist is 'retiring', and will be doing group from her private practice a bit over an hour's drive from me.

Sort of all over the place, but I'm doing much better now than 6 months ago.


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[JoanneB]

When I began seeing a therapist it was totally for help in loosing the tons of baggage I accumulated during a lifetime of NOT handling being trans. For me "The Letter" was not and could never be the thing needed to ease the pain or to quiet the noise in my head. (But yes, HRT does help a lot to, still does) Having been on/off low dose several times and 2 transition experiments in my early 20's, I knew I needed to fix me from the inside in order to stand a small chance of finding joy, or even just some happiness, in my life. And, any sort of transition was not even on my radar.

Most of time now, I see her about every 3 weeks. For a good 3-4 years I was seeing my therapist every other week. On occasion every week when times were particularly more stressed filled for me

To be fair, these days perhaps half of the time there is something directly TG related bothering me. A good 90% of my troubles/stress/"Cause of depression" etc. is attributable to a sick/dying/depressed/suicidal/near invalid wife which leaves little time nor emotional energy to think about my non-transition, non-changing, sound like a broken record most times life.

So why is that you are not seeing yours more frequently? Your choice or theirs? Your therapist just may be one playing the odds that most TGs go for the their letter and they just may come for a few more sessions after HRT before calling it quits, and schedule accordingly. I don't think there was ever a time I was not asked "So when do you want to come back?"

[LiliFee]

So, I have a gender therapist that I have been seeing for a while. Once I started hrt, the visits became less until now.  I haven't seen my therapist in almost 3 months.  I am feeling like I need to get back to my therapist for some brain dumping. 

So my question is for those that have a therapist.  How often do you see said therapist, and has it gotten less after starting hrt(or any part of transition).

For me, there have been different 'phases' of transition. In the beginning, the schedule was quite tight, like every 2 to 3 weeks, 2 hour sessions each. This was because there was a lot of stuff going on in my life, including some youth traumas and other non-trans related things for which I was taking therapy.

When this whole thing was done, I stopped therapy for a while. After I restarted, therapy started to fulfill a more formal role for me. First off, I had moved to another country, effectively restarting my entire transition. This time, my transition was/is going blazingly fast, and the therapy was mostly there to satisfy the requirements of my health insurance.

Last July, I finally got the go-ahead from my insurance for SRS, after having sent them a LOT of paperwork to get the approval. The resulting letter basically said: "congratulations, we're gonna pay whatever is needed for your SRS in two surgical steps".

My next visit to my therapist, he told me therapy wasn't really necessary anymore. Formally. Of course I can come back and talk with him about whatever's going on, but I'm so far into the whole thing now, it's not a necessity. This also feels like that for me, and I'm happy he's got some more time to help others who might need it more.

[laurenb]

Every other week. She's the best. She's helped me deal, not only with all of the assorted trans issues, but also all of the baggage from childhood.

[SadieBlake]

Weekly for 3+ years now and we've been addressing transition for a little over a year - when I decided I needed to transition, we'd talked about my identity lots but the nature of the discussion changed when an outcome began to depend on it. Around the time we'd put all the ducks in a row, I let her know I could see the end of the need for therapy as a possibility.

My therapist seemed entirely taken aback and I was surprised at that but then we've discussed transference along with countertransference and acknowledged that in 3 years of working both are often in the room.

She's really been a rock for me and I will miss her when the need for regular therapy has passed. That won't be for a while but I also know I won't want to devote that hour per week to a simply palliative therapy.

[Harley Quinn]

Once a month for a "maintenance" session. I keep her abreast of things, so that I can get my letters when I am ready for them. It is a small price to pay for having a letter produced any time I ask for one. I can call her any time and pick it up with the verbiage I want by my next visit. She's quite supportive.

[DuchessBianca]

I see my therapist weekly and have been since I started transitioning in May, though I've still awful at talking so he mostly does it. My life's pretty boring so I enjoy seeing his bubblyness every week haha

[ericazaz]

Once a month for a "maintenance" session. I keep her abreast of things, so that I can get my letters when I am ready for them. It is a small price to pay for having a letter produced any time I ask for one. I can call her any time and pick it up with the verbiage I want by my next visit. She's quite supportive.

Same here.

[cej]

Once a week for the first year, once I got the surgery letters I needed, I tapered off to once every few months just to check in.

[DawnOday]

Now that I have started HRT, I saw Kristi for the first time in three months. The HRT has brought such profound changes in my ability to cope that when I went to see her, I could not come up with any pressing issues as everything else shrinks in comparison. We have settled on 6 month intervals between visits unless something comes up.

[Tanya62]

therapist?

[Pisces228]

I see my therapist every other monday.  I'd go twice a week if I could afford it.

[Janes Groove]

I graduated from therapy early last summer.  My therapist said just call her when I need a gcs letter.

[Megan.]

For two years now, initially weekly while I sorted out decades of repression and denial. Dropped down to monthly visits when I stupidly tried to go back in the closet. Weekly again when I ended up suicidal after previous stupid effort. Now fortnightly while I move towards my RLE next year. The value of a non-judgemental neutral space is priceless to me.

[Angela Drakken]

I've been going once a month, for as long as my benefits cover per year. In the new year maybe alternating every other month, with voice therapy/training.