Is a psychologist a good place to start?

[Bird]

I am not on HRT or anything... I am just beginning to face who I am and do something about it. I am in a small size town at the moment, with few options of psychiatrists. I have heard bad things about most of them, and the few good ones I'd rather avoid becoming their patient because I have academic ties to them.


I heard good things about a psychologist. Does anyone knows if that kind of professional can help me?

[Colleen Ireland]

I believe they could, but I think the key question is, are they familiar/experienced/knowledgeable about trans issues?  Which I assume (since you're here) would be important to you - I know it was to me.  The professional I'm working with isn't even a psychologist, she's a psychotherapist, and I feel after two sessions she has already been of immense help to me.  I expect she will be a key part of my transition team.

[Bird]

I can't know.

She does says in her curriculum she deals with gender issues. Sadly, I don't think I have any support group to go to in my area. I attend university in a small-medium sized town. There ins't even a gay bar here.

I hope she will at least be able to point me towards the right direction. Like.. "go see this person"

[K8]

I also live in a smallish university town without a gay bar.  The nearest support group is 70 miles away.  I saw a clinical psychologist through my transition.  I found her to be very helpful.  She doesn't specialize in gender issues - she'd starve here - but has some experience with it and was a great help. 

I would try this person out.  If it's a good match, fine.  If it doesn't work, you can try another.

Good luck.

- Kate

[Shang]

A psychologist might be a good starting point.  I'm seeing a psychologist for various things, and she knows I'm trans and she's willing to help me find someone to talk to about it and she's very willing to talk to me about despite it not being her area of expertise.

[Cruelladeville]

Not if you want Hormones...

Only a dr or trickcyclist is licensed to write prescriptions.....

[Asfsd4214]

Not if you want Hormones...

Only a dr or trickcyclist is licensed to write prescriptions.....

A psychologist however can recommend you for HRT to a doctor.

Which is all any psychiatrist I've seen will do either, but unlike psychiatrists, they can't simply resort to trying to medicate you within 20 minutes of seeing you.

[Muffin]

It really depends on what you feel you need. If you are unsure about how you feel in regards to your gender identity etc then a psychologist will help you talk it through and view your situation from new angles to help you get a better understanding.

A psychiatrist will just basically assess you to make sure you are not crazy and go on to prescribe you meds if need be, and/or send you to an endocrinologist for further testing before prescribing. Once they start you off then GPs can continue to fill your scripts.

[Bird]

Yes.

Well I think talking with her might be good, and with what you all have been telling me, I feel fairly secure about starting with her.

I am unsure about going straight to the psychs who work here because all the good ones are Uni teachers... and I am REALLY involved with university stuff, I talk with them all the time about uni things. So we have a professional relationship.

If I begin therapy with one of them, I am afraid things might get blurry. To add, quite a bunch of other students trust me in this position I am at. So, it would be bad a thing thing (TM) if I ever betray their trust somehow.

But being a male has been driving me nuts, I absolutely have to do something about it and begin any sort of therapy ASAP. The only thing that stopped me from buying hormones on my own is my knowledge of the -large- amount of side effects they have that I'd go through without any sort of screening.

I have to confess Its tempting,  because I know all the doses and the mechanisms.

The psychologist is a university teacher as well ( all the best health professionals give classes in it, it seens) but I don't have a lot of contact with her, so it will be fine. At the very least, I hope she will be able to talk with me about what psych to see, and if I do see my uni psychs, what to do so we keep the patient stuff and the professional stuff clear.

[K8]

The psychologist I saw lives on the next block from me and I know her socially, although not well.  We were able to keep our social lives and psychologist/client relationships separate, but that depends on the two of you.

I never saw a psychiatrist for meds.  My psychologist and my family physician talked about it, both when I was going for depression and for hormones.  The requirement to see a psychiatrist is only in some medical systems - it depends on where you live.

- Kate

[Bird]

Hi k8, thanks for answering and giving me more ideas.

I live in Brazil, and my country's medical guidelines aren't as advanced as from the USA. Since I am a med student, I know this as a fact. Many of the countries guidelines are based on those from the USA, so it can be said, we sort of follow you in that regards.

Though we follow the USA and Europe in science, we don't do so in all aspects. Our health care system is currently seeking to find ways to give free surgery to transgenders. So, with all of this considered, I believe I'd need a psychiatrist for HRT, not because of legal issues, but because its the only person that would really understand me, aside from a psychologist and friends of course.

So I need mental health professionals.

I ended up scheduling an appointment with a psychiatrist from university. I figure I am in real need of help, and if I <not allowed> this up I might end messing up years of my life... so, we will have to talk through this and keep our professional and patient-medic relationships separate.