How many therapy sessions did it take for you to get a surgery letter?
In how many months?
None. I never had one.
I went to Brownstein, and if he's cool with you and your situation at your consultation, he does not require a letter. For a 17 year old who scheduled his surgery two days after his 18th birthday, he was asked for one. I know of no one else who has needed a letter for Brownstein.
Oh, and before all you Standards of Care people get your boxer briefs in a bunch, Brownstein was on the WPATH board for quite some time. He knows the guidelines and knows enough to treat them exactly as such- guidelines.
It took me one - I saw her and she recommended me to the Endo straight away, he had a 2 month waiting list. I saw him once and he started me that same month. It was just too easy. Both my therapsit and dr are very cool and easy going and didnt see why they should delay prescribing me T.
Makes me a very happy boy :)
Quote from: Mister on December 21, 2008, 02:08:57 AM
None. I never had one.
I went to Brownstein, and if he's cool with you and your situation at your consultation, he does not require a letter. For a 17 year old who scheduled his surgery two days after his 18th birthday, he was asked for one. I know of no one else who has needed a letter for Brownstein.
Oh, and before all you Standards of Care people get your boxer briefs in a bunch, Brownstein was on the WPATH board for quite some time. He knows the guidelines and knows enough to treat them exactly as such- guidelines.
Brownstein does ask for a letter; whether he will waive it or not depends on your consult. I didn't ask for a waiver and my therapist sent one. He wanted it 3 weeks before surgery.
My therapist gave me the letter after 5 months; she would have done it sooner if necessary (ie she waited til the last possible moment to write it).
Jay
I offically only needed one. However I got two! ;D
well i haven't had surgery yet because of financial reasons. but i went to therapy for about 4 months, i think a total of 12 sessions. she said she usually does 6 months but since i couldn't keep seeing her (had to move for college), she said she would write it for me. now i just gotta get $7k and call her back hah
My therapist required I see her for a full six months before taking the next step, HRT, lifestyle. On the last session she required that my wife attend. Once I had met her requirements, which she based on the established standards, she was ready to provide me with a letter to begin HRT. Surgery was still down the road a ways. I was satisfied with this plan and after so many years, I could be patient with it. My only regret is that I didn't take it beyond our last session. Now I'm coming back to terms with who and what I am and only time will tell where this part of the journey will take me.
Quote from: sneakersjay on December 21, 2008, 03:40:49 PM
Quote from: Mister on December 21, 2008, 02:08:57 AM
None. I never had one.
I went to Brownstein, and if he's cool with you and your situation at your consultation, he does not require a letter. For a 17 year old who scheduled his surgery two days after his 18th birthday, he was asked for one. I know of no one else who has needed a letter for Brownstein.
Oh, and before all you Standards of Care people get your boxer briefs in a bunch, Brownstein was on the WPATH board for quite some time. He knows the guidelines and knows enough to treat them exactly as such- guidelines.
Brownstein does ask for a letter; whether he will waive it or not depends on your consult. I didn't ask for a waiver and my therapist sent one. He wanted it 3 weeks before surgery.
My therapist gave me the letter after 5 months; she would have done it sooner if necessary (ie she waited til the last possible moment to write it).
Jay
I think his website says he requires one, but I was asked for a copy by his secretary before I met with him. I said I didn't have one but I had a T letter, asked if that would meet his requirement and she just shrugged at me and said it's up to him. I asked him the same question and he asked me how long I'd wanted top surgery for. I told him and he said, "That's good enough for me."
So no, Brownstein does not *require* a letter.
I also used Brownstein w/o a letter.
Quote from: Mister on December 21, 2008, 02:08:57 AM
None. I never had one.
I went to Brownstein, and if he's cool with you and your situation at your consultation, he does not require a letter. For a 17 year old who scheduled his surgery two days after his 18th birthday, he was asked for one. I know of no one else who has needed a letter for Brownstein.
Oh, and before all you Standards of Care people get your boxer briefs in a bunch, Brownstein was on the WPATH board for quite some time. He knows the guidelines and knows enough to treat them exactly as such- guidelines.
I have booked my surgey with Dr Brownstein for Jan 2010, and as of yet I do not have a recomendation for surgery letter, all I have been given is a very vague letter from my Dr saying that I am a patient and have been diagnosed with GD.
Will this be enough?
I should be starting my T in Dec 09, which shall be my last appointment before the surgery.
Did you tell him before you went to the consultation that you did not have a letter, how long ago did you get it done?
Do you think I sould tell him this prior to going, I live in the UK. Thanks all who answer.
I would just email him and say that is the letter you have will it work. He will probably take it. They didn't ask me for my letter until 3 weeks before. I had one but I know he works with guys that don't. I just has my surgery with him in July 09.
cheers,
myles
I started seeing a therapist in July or September of 2004. I didn't ask for the letter until some time in late 2007. I didn't enter therapy to get the letter. All I was thinking was keeping peace in the family.
But, if my goal was to get the letter, I imagine it would have happened fairly quickly as she was the one who kept bringing up transitioning, even though I initially stated it would never happen.
Julie
Like Julie I didn't enter therapy just to get a letter, I did it because I felt it was a good idea; to get answers, to be sure of a diagnosis, and to be sure there were no other underlying conditions I should be concerned with. I had two therapists one was a gender specialist the other was a Dr Margo Rivera and I've provided a little background on her:
QuoteMargo Rivera, a feminist psychologist, is assistant professor of psychiatry at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and codirector of the personality disorders service at Kingston Psychiatric Hospital. Proffering many strong views, Dr. Rivera takes offense even with the term "disorder." She shuns the use of the more modern term "dissociative identity disorder" (multiple personality disorder) because she feels that "disorder" is insulting to the people who have been all too insulted as it is."
Interesting is the point that while I didn't have a problem with the DSM Classification, my therapist did.
I spent two years in therapy and received my letters after the first.
-={LR}=-
I started therapy sepetember of 2009 and i could have my T letter in december of 2009 but i am not getting in until january 2010. My therapist requires being on T and living the lifestyle for 12 months straight before she will write a surgery letter.
I had a letter from my primary care physician for chest surgery on account of scoliosis in less than a day. No local surgeon would do a female-to-male reconstruction without a letter.
My therapist is Dr. Sammons. First time in her office, she said she'd be more than happy to get me a letter after a "bare minimum" of personal history spread out between four-to-ten additional sessions. Because of my co-pay to see her (and cos we spent the first session brainstorming on how to get Medicare to cover me seeing her; officially I'm seeing her on account of an anxiety disorder), and the fact that I'm on disability allowance, this ended up stretched out over six months.
i got hormones without a letter, and my T prescribing doctor faxed my surgeon (garramone) a letter that said shed been treating me with T for 6 months for GID and it was going well.
needing a therapist/psychologist/psychiatrist letter isnt really held onto as law much any more. people are starting to see us as sane and not as crazies who need a professional to verify our every trip to the super market.
5 monnths 3 visits (so far)
Quote from: Mister on December 21, 2008, 02:08:57 AM
None. I never had one.
I went to Brownstein, and if he's cool with you and your situation at your consultation, he does not require a letter. For a 17 year old who scheduled his surgery two days after his 18th birthday, he was asked for one. I know of no one else who has needed a letter for Brownstein.
Oh, and before all you Standards of Care people get your boxer briefs in a bunch, Brownstein was on the WPATH board for quite some time. He knows the guidelines and knows enough to treat them exactly as such- guidelines.
I went to Brownstein and needed a letter because I couldn't go for my initial consult until the day before surgery and he wasn't about to approve someone long distance, sight unseen. He is a responsible doctor.
Oh, and I got my surgery letter at the same time as my T letter. After six sessions, three months with a counsellor.
Dennis
I sort-of don't understand the question... but I have been in counseling for 10 years now, and when I got the hyst surgery they gave me a letter (we had to request it) so I could get the F changed to an M on my DL and birth cert. But my case - they didn't base it on how many therapy sessions I had, it took me having to have a surgery to get the type of letter I got. I went out of town to a bigger city to have both of my surgeries though. They said they would have to go through "the board" for me to get the surgery down here in my small town. The reason, I assume, is because I have had mental illness.
I know my post here probably didn't help anyone out but well, I tried to fit in ;D
When I went for my psych evaluation before surgery, the doctor / psychiatrist told me that if I had some sort of illness, then he wouldn't let me go on through surgery because we'd have to have cleared up my illness or at least get me some good therapy and medications to make sure it's not just a "delusion" or something like that. On that first psych evaluation, I lied on several questions because I knew that if I had 'those parts' any longer then I'd do away with myself. So I lied, I admit. But my second evaluation the doctors made it look like I was "uncooperative" by telling me to only answer about 20 of the 500 questions. They did that on purpose, I believe because there's a therapist up there in mental ward who treats me bad and calls me a girl and all these other things. He once embarassed me in front of my room mate. I hate the man. His name was Lawerence Underwood. Mum said that if he ever comes near me again that she will make it to where he won't have a job anymore. He's very abusive - he shouldn't be working with mental patients in that case.
Anyway, I'm off topic. So sorry. My fingers got carried away.
Did you all have to get a letter from your therapist in order to have the surgery? I never had to have one. I think it was because I was in counseling for so long.
I got one surgery letter after 4 months and got the other one after 2 or 3 sessions with my other therapist after seeing the first one for 4 months. The SOC requires 2 letters for MTF bottom surgery (SRS). Not sure if orchies require a letter or not, I think it depends on the doctor.
My surgeon stood by the SOC. One year RLE and HRT. And two letters. I am one step away from the day, and that is for the week to hurry up and get to Friday.
Janet
Quote from: Josh on October 29, 2009, 03:55:17 PMneeding a therapist/psychologist/psychiatrist letter isnt really held onto as law much any more. people are starting to see us as sane and not as crazies who need a professional to verify our every trip to the super market.
At the risk of being accused of raining on the parade, seriously, I think that there is, in fact,
some valid reasons for a psychological evaluation. I've encountered at least two people on-line who are basically "FTMTF" -- and one of them even went so far as 18+months on HRT and then scheduling, then very soon after cancelling her chest surgery and very openly regretting HRT because many of the changes testosterone makes are
permanent. her story was that she realised, "almost too late in some ways, but definitely too late in others" (her words) that she wanted to transition for the wrong reasons.
One of the TS women at my local TS/TG group has even agreed with my experiences and has said on several occasions that she's run into far more FTMTF persons than MTFTMs, and she has also noted that the "FTMTF" women go further in their physical transitions than "MTFTM" men, and therefore have more to ultimately regret, so there's obviously an underlying issue here that this new-found easier-access to FTM HRT and chest surgery is not adequately addressing. And if you look up the TS standards of care for physical transitions in the U$, it really is
far easier for FTM persons to score HRT and top-op (both of which result in many irreversible changes) than it is for MTF persons to score HRT and possible breast augmentation (the changes resulting in both of those endeavours are, in contrast, largely reversible).
On one hand, the U$ didn't even completely recognise FTM as a valid form of transsexualism until 1977 (and there are LOTS of reasons for that), so it's almost novel that said orgs are finally not only recognising us, but cutting self-identified FTM TS persons so much slack -- but why? And to what end? There are far deeper societal issues at work here than just a handful of doctors "deciding we're not crazies" and "taking us seriously". As grateful as I am that going on HRT was a relatively headache-free experience for me, I've known far more TS women who've been trying for YEARS to "get taken seriously enough" to even have their therapists consider, and I've also encountered just enough "ex-FTMs" who now seem to get off on bad-mouthing the FTM community and the doctors who enable our physical transition every chance they get, that it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I also like to think that my doctor, being a woman herself and being my primary care physician off-and-on since I was fifteen (that's thirteen years) didn't sign me up for my first injection a week before my therapist faxed in the letter due to some underlying internalised misogyny of hers fostering the possible notion that I may be "better off", even if I'm jumping the gun -- I hope she made her decision because she knows that this is what's best for me, due to a long and good doctor-patient relationship between her and myself.
I was in therapy for 16months before I received my authorisation for GRS.
I got my T letter after 5 sessions in 3 months. (Well, actually, 6 months, but that's because I had to take a 3 month hiatus for financial reasons.) I saw him once more about a month after starting T and during that session he indicated that he would be willing to give me a surgery letter. At this point I haven't actually gotten it, though, because I'm at least a year away from being able to afford surgery anyway.
My psychologist has been pushing me to schedule a consultation with a top surgeon and to find out information and what not. I found out that the Transgender Center up in Philly that does top surgery along with a bunch of other things actually doesn't require a letter well it's optional lol so yeaaah I dunno. I guess the point is that there seem to be a few that don't require a letter lol
Quote from: YoungSoulRebel on November 03, 2009, 05:09:16 PM
One of the TS women at my local TS/TG group has even agreed with my experiences and has said on several occasions that she's run into far more FTMTF persons than MTFTMs, and she has also noted that the "FTMTF" women go further in their physical transitions than "MTFTM" men, and therefore have more to ultimately regret
There was a special on msnbc a few weeks ago called "A Change of Heart" about 2 MTFs who de-transitioned back to male. It was pretty interesting.
Here is a link to it if anyone is interested:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26470734#26470734 (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26470734#26470734)
None, I never have any therapy.
I went by consent model for both T and top surgery.
I had 4 sessions over 3 months for approval for HRT. Ive had 3 sessions over the past year of hrt to see how myself and the family are coping. I need one more session after my FFS for him to write a referal for GRS. All up Ide say about 12 hours of therapy
I had 8 appointments over 4 months and I just got my T letter but I could have gotten it a month ago if I had been able to get an appointment with Dr. McGinn earlier.