psychologist report

[Al James]

Ive just received a copy of the report the pyschiatrist is sending to my doctor and onto the GIC in Nottingham. I saw him three times and went over pretty much everything that your supposed to do at the GIC so hopefully i wont have to do it all again. Now, yes he has put that in his opinion i suffer from gender identity disorder and am ready for treatment. However he expressed concern that i seemed to think of gender on a superficial scale as in more concerned with the outward appearance. Now to my mind that is all i have to worry about. I'm 38 years old and ive had a lot of years to get to know myself. I may not always like myself 100% but on the whole i'm pretty happy with the person i am. The only problem i have is the body i'm encased in and what it does to me. The person in the mirror ain't me! So am i wrong in thinking this? Should there be other deeper bits i should be concerned about? Cos in my mind; take away the female bits, help me look more male and i'm sorted

[Vancha]

No, in my opinion you simply have a more solid male identity.  Some people go to therapists not knowing who they are or having a strong identity already created, so that psychological element needs to be taken care of, as well.  I think what might have happened is that, because you feel male in your mind and feel the body is the only problem, you spoke only about the physicality of gender, and gave him the idea that you were transitioning only because of "shallow" reasons... Simply because he hasn't seen anything else.

[Al James]

i'll have to take more care with the next one that i get my point of view across properly. i dont know for sure that what i have is a male identity; its just me, but i do know that i don't feel female and i absolutely hate this body. Ask me to explain why i think im male tho and i just cant express it

[Ryan]

It's likely that the psychiatrist didn't have much experience with trans people.
Although, like you said,  if you're pretty much happy with what's on the inside, then you only need to change the outside.

Maybe ask yourself what's the difference between men and women, besides the way they look? What are the most important parts of being male for you? Might give you a bit more insight and some better answers for next time round.