College counselors

[Pinhead]

Is it possible for me to get a T letter from a counselor at my college. I mean, are college counselors qualified to write these things? I just wanted to know becuase I am planning on seeing a counselor at the college I am going to see if I can get a letter to start hormones.

[Elwood]

No. College counselors are not certified therapists. Your therapist must have a Ph.D.

[gravitysrainbow]

But if a college counselor happened to have a PhD and had the proper credentials, it would work, right? And then it would be like winning the lottery. -grin- But...I really do wonder if a certified therapist in a less-official position like that would still work. I don't see why not, though.

[Elwood]

But if a college counselor happened to have a PhD and had the proper credentials, it would work, right? And then it would be like winning the lottery. -grin- But...I really do wonder if a certified therapist in a less-official position like that would still work. I don't see why not, though.

Counselors in colleges tend to be academic mentors. They're not there to provide therapy or diagnosis. To get a T letter first requires a GID diagnosis. If you don't have that yet, you're months in the waiting. Took me 4 months to get diagnosed. I'll probably have to go through at least 3 more months of therapy, and since I only can see this guy once a month, it could take years. I hope he refers me to someone else if that happens, 'cos they'll find my body in a ditch if that's how they're going to do things.

A therapist who writes the T letter must have a Ph.D and have some knowledge on GID. So no lying your way through, no easy way out. Trust me, I tried all the little tricks. I tried everything. They don't let it happen. At least not here in the U.S. You can be diagnosed by a lower level counselor. I was diagnosed by a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). She's still, however, supervised by a therapist. There's just no way a kid working a summer job at the local JC as a counselor is going to diagnose you or write you a T letter.

No free rides.

[gravitysrainbow]

I know at my college, which is a pretty dinky public college, there are academic advisors, and then there are separate mental health counselors through the Health Services department. I have no clue about their credentials, though, so they might not be qualified enough. Shane, I'd say it's worth a shot to at least find out what credentials your counselor has, but don't get your hopes up. From what Dan said, it's pretty possible they won't be able to write you a letter.

[Elwood]

Hmm... I was unaware of that. I'll look into it. I'm in school tomorrow and I have a 2 hour lunch period. I'll try to get back to you guys.

(Because I'm out, I have no problem asking the department questions. Anyone else have questions for their school department and I'll ask my school what's "typical" )

Best of luck to you Shane. It's unusual to have school counselors be able to do something like this. The reason why the therapist who writes your letter must have a Ph.D is because he or she must have an understanding of the effects of T and what a GID patient looks like (verses someone who just wants the "societal benefits" of being male). That's why I think you should trust an experienced therapist. Things will backfire if they put you on T too soon, too. If you're not ready for it, it will be very scary for you (yes, even though you're getting the body you want-- remember, guys have their own kids of mood swings because of the T in their body).

They don't write the T letters lightly. I'm on month 5 I might finally get to speak to the right guy. I generally takes 3 months of therapy to have the T letter approval written. Your therapist wants to be sure that medical transition is the path for you.

[fae_reborn]

Yes, it is possible to receive therapy and get letters, support, etc. from a licensed mental health counselor in college.  I went down this very route and have been working with my present counselor for 2 years.  She works at the health center on campus and has a PhD, and is very supportive.  She wrote letters for hormones (after I had been seeing her for 5 or 6 months), for my name change (after 10-12 months), and recently for my surgery (after 1 year RLE).  We followed all the Standards of Care and everything has worked out.  If you find a counselor at the health center on your campus, it's possible they may be able to help you.  The benefit is that for most major universities, their services are paid for through the student health fee that you pay each semester.  I got lucky though, YMMV.

Elwood, from your post I think there might be some confusion.  I just want to note that there's a huge difference between "counselors" in a college health center, and "counselors" in student advising positions.  The staff of a college health center (at least in the psychological services dept. at my college) is made up of counselors, some are Social Workers who are MSW's, other's have Ph.D.'s and other's are licensed therapists.  However (in my school anyway) those who are academic mentors are known as "advisers," not "counselors."

Jenn

[tekla]

I have no problem asking the department questions. Anyone else have questions for their school department and I'll ask my school what's "typical"

Elwood, you go to the least typical Junior College in America.  The fact that they still call themselves a JC and not a CC is even pretty important.  But its endowed at a level far beyond a lot of smaller private colleges (they own half of a major regional bank, among other holdings), and even looks more like a college than most CCs do.  It also has a pretty amazing teaching staff - in many ways its not even a traditional faculty, in that they are not using people hoping to get a college teaching job, or gypsy proffs, but use a lot of people from the community who have real jobs and just teach a class or two.  Its a pretty amazing place really.

All sorts of people can 'write' that letter.  But only a medical doctor can prescribe drugs according to the law.  Psychologists, even with a PhD can not, but a psychiatrist is a medical doctor and can.  Though most prefer just to send you to an endocrinologist, who is a doctor with a specialty in hormones.

[Dennis]

To add to what Tekla said, you'd be best off asking your GP what he or she requires in order to write a T prescription. My GP accepted a letter from a counsellor without a PhD, but also required an assessment from an endo to make sure I was physically capable.

Some GP's will prescribe based on informed consent. There really isn't a set process.

Dennis

[Elwood]

I have no problem asking the department questions. Anyone else have questions for their school department and I'll ask my school what's "typical"

Elwood, you go to the least typical Junior College in America.  The fact that they still call themselves a JC and not a CC is even pretty important.  But its endowed at a level far beyond a lot of smaller private colleges (they own half of a major regional bank, among other holdings), and even looks more like a college than most CCs do.  It also has a pretty amazing teaching staff - in many ways its not even a traditional faculty, in that they are not using people hoping to get a college teaching job, or gypsy proffs, but use a lot of people from the community who have real jobs and just teach a class or two.  Its a pretty amazing place really.

All sorts of people can 'write' that letter.  But only a medical doctor can prescribe drugs according to the law.  Psychologists, even with a PhD can not, but a psychiatrist is a medical doctor and can.  Though most prefer just to send you to an endocrinologist, who is a doctor with a specialty in hormones.

Typical for OUTSIDE SCHOOLS. Duh. :/ I'm not an idiot.

So why can't I get that goddamn letter? It's been five months and I'm with 4 different doctors! You'd think they'd bump their goddamn heads together right about now!

Posted on: August 23, 2008, 04:39:02 PM

To add to what Tekla said, you'd be best off asking your GP what he or she requires in order to write a T prescription. My GP accepted a letter from a counsellor without a PhD, but also required an assessment from an endo to make sure I was physically capable.

Some GP's will prescribe based on informed consent. There really isn't a set process.

Dennis

VERY GOOD INFORMATION. I have NOT tried the approach of asking my GP. I'm going to call her.

[Phenomenal]

Hi, I can't offer much on the US rules but here in the UK I've had a really good experience with my school counselling service. I've been having regular sessions with my counsellor on the uni service, which has been more helpful than I could have imagined. She can't write official letters and didn't even have any experience with this sort of thing but even so, she's really helped me and is keen to go on supporting me as I transition. So it might still be worth talking to someone at yours even if they can't write the letter.

Anyway, I just thought I'd say that although there are all these hoops to jump through, some of the people involved might be able to give that little extra support that you're not even expecting.

Best of luck with everything,
Grace

[tekla]

Just saying, your JC is not a typical one, so your advice, based on a few semesters might not reflect a typical experience.

[Mister]

College counselors can and do write letters for testosterone, surgery, etc.  These letters need not be from someone with a Ph.D., it is all up do your GP/endo/surgeon.  My GP didn't require a letter- just a verbal from the therapist.  My surgeon didn't require a letter, either- if he's good with your situation, he doesn't require one.  If he's iffy, he'll ask for one. 

[tekla]

Another thing to remember is that the United States is just that, united states, so that's fifty different sets of laws.  Some places have restrictions about college (state employee types, that includes JC/CC, types) talking about abortion for example.  Some states have differing libility laws, differing standards, and different moral ideas.  So, as they say, your milage may vary.

[Elwood]

Since I'm in California, the state that likes queers the most, I should be okay.

College counselors can and do write letters for testosterone, surgery, etc.  These letters need not be from someone with a Ph.D., it is all up do your GP/endo/surgeon.  My GP didn't require a letter- just a verbal from the therapist.  My surgeon didn't require a letter, either- if he's good with your situation, he doesn't require one.  If he's iffy, he'll ask for one.

I'll consider asking the school about this so I have a back up plan.

[findingreason]

Oh wow, I know my college has psychological/person advisers/counseling. But, reading this thread made me check into it more, as I thought "There's no way I could to a normal therapist, it could be risky." But, on the list, one of counseling options is as says:

"Sexual identity" - Would that be sexual orientation, or gender identity? It seems a little vague. What do you think? If I can get counseling through my schools without getting hurt from the wrong therapist, I'd be very pleased. As my tuition already paid for some of it; AKA free.

[Elwood]

"Sexual identity" - Would that be sexual orientation, or gender identity? It seems a little vague. What do you think? If I can get counseling through my schools without getting hurt from the wrong therapist, I'd be very pleased. As my tuition already paid for some of it; AKA free.

That's an umbrella term for queers and straight people alike. Everybody. From pregnant teens to gender->-bleeped-<- intersexed people, I'm sure. I think it's where you'd want to go.

I don't think it is for ONLY transgendered people. But I do believe that department includes it. The only way to know is to ask.

[Phenomenal]

Hi findingreason,

If I can get counseling through my schools without getting hurt from the wrong therapist, I'd be very pleased. As my tuition already paid for some of it; AKA free.

It worked for me so I'd say give it a try. If they're not what you're looking for you can just have the one session then never go back. But if they are, it could be just what you need. It should all be completely confidential too - if you're worried about that, they should have information on it on the counselling service's small print (on your college intranet or wherever...)

Hope it works out for you.

[findingreason]

Gosh I hope it works. I know I want to work out this whole mess. I'll see about making an appointment as soon as I can call them, or see the counseling office in person.

It should all be completely confidential too - if you're worried about that, they should have information on it on the counselling service's small print (on your college intranet or wherever...)

Yeah, I definitely want this one confidential, I don't need other people in my school knowing my little secret.

Now, knowing this may be it, I'm also REALLY scared too. At the moment, I don't feel I have enough courage to tell them I "may" be TS/TG. Anyone else scared to death to talk to a counselor for the first time?

[Natalie W]

I'm willing to be most of us are/were scared to talk to a counselor for the first time.  After all, this is some deep, dark secret we've kept hidden for so long out of fear and shame.  It only makes sense that we're afraid of telling anyone, including a therapist.