Susan's Place Transgender Resources

The title says it all.  I'm Transgendered in Idaho, and I think I'm one of very few, which is kind of an issue for me because right now I feel really singled out.  All I really hear about is Transgender folk off in California or Florida and other places that arnt soooo... Iunno, Idahoish?

Anyways, being alone isnt a HUGE thing, but it means that its harder than hell to find a therapist who knows what to do for a transgendered person.
There is one gender therapist that I know of in Boise, but I'm about 200 miles away from his office, so its not really an option unless I go up there for college, which I highly doubt I will (Community college all the way for me!).
I'm hoping to start therapy this winter if I manage to land a part time job, flipping burgers or something, to help pay for it.  I'm only 17 so I'm not looking for a letter for surgery or a T prescription at this exact moment, but I want to get the ball rolling.  I'm actually wanting to start college as a male, so that gives me until next fall (when I'm planning on starting classes) to get everything going, and I'm hoping I'll be on T by then, or at least getting ready to start.

So a big problem I am having is finding a therapist that's not going to be a big waist of time and who will actually be willing to help me.  I've actually found one that I'm interested in, but I'm not sure how I would tell her straight out what I was there for.  And if I did tell her and she couldn't help me, then I'd be back to square one and be needing to find a therapist again.

Can anyone help me and give me advice on what I should be looking for in a therapist or how I would tell them that I know I am trans, but that I need a doctor to to give me a paper that says so?  Its really an awkward situation since I really have no one I can turn to and ask for help.  I am out to my girlfriend and very few of my friends (They've all been extremely supportive) but not my parents or my sister.
My sister would most likely be okay with it all, but my parents... yeah, not so much.

I've already told my parents I want to start therapy, (They dont know why and I haven't bothered to give any details).  Neither of my parents have attempted to talk me out of it, and if anything my mom has been more than helpful in helping me find the few good shrinks around, (I'll be paying for the sessions out of my own pocket, so they have nothing to complain about).  She's even helped me modify my tri-top binder so it didn't make my arms go numb, so she knows I bind and hasn't said anything negative about it, other than the fact that she thinks I'm going to give myself boob cancer... and I've dressed like a boy since I was old enough to dress myself.  I actually pass as a guy more often than not, and my mom and dad know it because they're usually the ones who correct the person who made the mistake.  (I think its kinda nifty when the cashier at the store calls me Sir, but my mom gets a little upset and goes out of her way to correct them and put a very sharp emphasis on the word 'She' or 'Her' or 'Girl'.)

So that was more back ground than a question, but I figure a little info is always a good thing.
Thanks in advance for whatever help you guys can give me.

Welcome! If you check out the Reference Library on this site and click on "The TGPortal," you can then click on "Therapists and Counselors" under "Medical" and get to a list of therapists. For Idaho, I see two listed--one in Boise and one in Sandpoint. Does that help? You might also try the nearest lesbian and gay center to see if they know anything. And if you're still not getting any hits, you might try calling the therapists that you know about to see if they know of anyone closer to you. If you strike out at every turn, I suppose you might turn something up with a careful Google search, but that seems like a long shot. Other folks here might know of other resources.

You're in good company here. There are lots of guys here around your age who can definitely relate to what you're going through. I'm definitely a late bloomer and a lot older than you, but I hear you loud and clear.

I found this place about a week ago, and I already can't live without it. I hope you'll find it as terrific as I do.

Be sure to check the places out of state, Spokane, Missoula that might be closer to you, but out of your state.

Yeah, I was going to say you might have to travel some miles.

Try being from Texas haha. Worst TG LAWS in the world.

why not go to a college in a state that has better TG resources, you could live away from home, get financial aid, and get a head start on transitioning...?

Posted on: August 07, 2008, 01:19:32 PM

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forgot to recommend the www.thetransitionalmale.com website, good resources!

Quote from: Hal on August 07, 2008, 01:21:36 PM
why not go to a college in a state that has better TG resources, you could live away from home, get financial aid, and get a head start on transitioning...?

Posted on: August 07, 2008, 01:19:32 PM

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forgot to recommend the www.thetransitionalmale.com website, good resources!

That's pretty much what I did.  I think all universities include free counseling (well, it's included in tuition).  If they don't help you, they will def. recommend someone who will

Thank you very much for the input Arch, I didn't know about the doctor in Sandpoint, I actually have never heard of Sandpoint so, lol.  I dont' think its any closer to me than Boise however.

There are actually no LGBT support groups in my area, or at least none that show up on any web searches or google earth.  There are a few places that are called "Support Groups" in my general townish area, but when I went to them they were mostly full of pregnant teenagers and people in drug rehab that have to go so they dont break parol.
I actually just got a job today so I'm waiting to fet a little saved up before I start calling around to find a therapist, because if I do find one that can help I want to be able to start going right away.

I'm a Southern Idahoan, so if I did go out of state for help I would be relying on Utah or Wyoming, and possibly Nevada if I wanted to streach it.

I actually already have to drive 45 minutes to get to the therapist I'm in favor of but distance isn't a big deal to me, and I head up that way once or twice a month already because the town I live in has a Wal-Mart and a gas station and not much else.  So if I need anything I generally have to take an hour drive to get it.

I'm really just wanting to go to the comunity college to get my basic credits done, because I really suck at math and english so if I fail a class I'll only have lost 50-100 bucks.  Whereas, if I did that in a real college I'm assuming it would be a bigger chunk of change gone down the drain.  My Dad will help me pay for college so long as I'm dead serious about what I am doing, and since I have no idea where I'm heading in life I can't exactly pick out a college to go to.  I'm thinking Veterinarian or Chef, lol.

I'm really trying to get serious about my future so I can find a place that will help me the best it can, and I'm pretty sure the help isn't going to come from anywhere in my living area.

Thanks very much for helping out guys, it was very cool of you all.

Whoa. Sandpoint is way the hell up in the north of the state, near the border. You're not ideally situated, I must say.

But what about Ogden, Utah? I sat down with a ruler and an atlas and did some figuring. If you're in the south of Idaho, a couple hundred miles from Boise, and fairly close to Wyoming and Utah, then Ogden should work better than Boise. There's a listing in that resource. The way I figure it, you might be one hundred miles away by car, more or less--depending on exactly where you are. Check it out. Could be good.

Keep coming back here, though. We are a friendly bunch.

Utah, with the exception of Moab perhaps, is not exactly TG friendly, or freak friendly, or non-mormon friendly even.

But I agree with CC route if your English and Math are not up to par, you need that stuff at your fingertips in college.  I flunked more people based on their inability to write English than for any reason having to do with the fact of history or PolySci.

Ogden might actually work out, I think its only a little over a 2 hour drive?  Maybe less depending on how fast I'm going (Speeding on the highways!).  My friend goes to college in Logan and its not a far off drive from Ogden (20-30 mins maybe? Never driven straight through so don't know for sure), so if I needed a place to crash I'm sure she'd be up for letting me share the floor with her 4 cats and terrible weiner dog.

But I kinda agree with Tekla, I never though Utah was much of a friendly place for the GLBT community.

Or any community for that matter.  Back in the day when we did Dead tour we went over it, or under it, but no way would I drive though that state in a van with Jerry stickers on it.

Not to mention they tend to drive a little... wacky?  Maybe its just because I'm used to taking my time and not needing to rush off to church, iunno.
My friend in Logan says she knows a few gay people that go to college there, but they dont run around with gay pride bumper stickers on their cars.  She says its a kind of a place that isn't into open minded people.


But, if it comes down to it, I'll just tread lightly and check out what Ogden has to offer, or even possibly Salt Lake City if I need to, but that would be about the same distance as going to Boise, so, I guess it all depends.
Still hoping for a gender therapist to suddenly move into my area before winter time *crosses fingers*

Well, two hours is better than three hours or however long it would take you to drive to Boise, and the therapist IS on the list...the only one I saw in Ogden. So it's worth checking out, anyway.

I was surprised to see a few therapists in Salt Lake...that struck me as weird.

I've heard less than stellar reports about attitudes in your general area, so I can well understand that your Logan friend's acquaintances are not particularly, uh, flamboyant about their orientation.

And ditto what tekla says about English and math. Writing is essentially thinking on paper...you should have strong writing skills. And math is simply wonderful.  :)

I dont know if I can agree with the math part... I've never been much good at it and I was VERY lucky to make it past Algebra.  I think I squeezed by with a C-.  And I really do love writting and English, but my spelling is terrible along with grammar and punctuation so I tend to struggle with it.

Attitudes about sexuality, and (to an extent), race, can get pretty sticky around my area, but mostly with the adults only.  Teenagers at my school could care less, but if an adult were to find out a gay person was going to their child's school, hell might boil over.  I'm actually doubting that anyone in my area even knows what a transsexual is, so as far as everyone is considered, I'm just the big bad butch, lol.

I got looking around and there are actually a few LGBT communities in Idaho.  None of them particularly close to me, but I was fairly surprised because I assumed they had all been chased out with pitchforks...

You've all been a very big help by the way, and I am very happy with the feedback I got.

Quote from: Scotty72 on August 08, 2008, 12:58:25 AM
I got looking around and there are actually a few LGBT communities in Idaho.  None of them particularly close to me, but I was fairly surprised because I assumed they had all been chased out with pitchforks...

Pitchforks, lol, you had me laughing out loud.

Scotty,

if things don't work ou or prove to be too difficult because of distance issues, you might want to look into an internet transitioning option, I know it sounds hokey, but it actually seems pretty good. It was desiged specifically for TG people who have internet access, but live too far out from TG resources. You remain in contact with them and after you go through certain steps they provide you with letters. I thought about using them myself, but I happen to live in an area w/ many resources, so it would actually complicate things, but for you it may prove to be very helpful! I don't know the site off the top of my head, so I can't give it right now, but if you're interested I'll try to find it, it's gotta be somewhere in my "TG notes."

Mucho Gracias Hal, I was actually on the sight for internet therapy just yesterday, but I kinda thought it was like a scam...  I'll have to look further into it, but it was posted on the FTM Live Journal, and I'm assuming that people wouldn't be spreading the scam...?  Its even cheaper than what the therapists around here charge.  (Going rate is anywhere from 60 to 100).
I feel a little scatter brained right now so sorry if it all seems out of wack.

Make sure it got some legal validity in your state.  I bet all states don't honor it.

I was actually looking into the online therapy deal recently. I looked at the section on FtMs, and it refers to transmen as "female TS." I don't know if the person who wrote it was the actual therapist, or just a confused assistant or something, but it was sortof a red flag for me. Maybe just a pink flag, hah...It didn't turn me off of the idea completely, but it made me a bit wary.

www.Gendertherapist.com (http://www.gendertherapist.com)  Is the place I was looking at, I'm not sure if there are any others out there.  Dr. Graham L Peveller is the therapist I would be chatting with, and he seems to have a lot of certificates and diplomas.  I was reading through the tags on Live Journal and I've found one guy who used him to get a letter and Dr. Medalie accepted it, so its not a scam.  If it is, it's a VERY convincing one.

I'm not so sure about what all Idaho requires from therapists, (Though I'm sure this online guy has every diploma you'd ever need), but I'm not planning on getting surgery here, instead I'm looking at Dr. Brownstein, and even though thats still further in the future, I am in love with his work and the results he has, and I have yet to read or hear negative feed back from anyone who's gone to him.  So I'm guessing he's the one who has to approve the letter?  I think the only reason why he wouldn't take the letter would be because of Dr. Graham being over sea's... I'm guessing again though so, *shrugs*.

All I know for dead certain about Idaho is that I cannot change the sex on my birth certificate.

I wouldn't worry about the birth certif., I have never been asked /seen mine, don't even know where it is. I think that's more of a formality, DL, SSA, and passports/citizenships are the ones to go after. I tried to find that site I mentioned, but couldn't, though I'm pretty sure it would pop up if you tried "transgender/transsexual/resources/therapists" in the search engine... play around with any combinations of those words...They are a group, not a specific individual, like the therapist you found (he might work out for you) and you go through steps, like you have to send in photos of yourself, etc...
Wish you luck, let us know how it works out.