Next Monday (not this coming one), I'll be seeing a counselor for the first time, finally. I've needed it so bad. Anyway I wanted to ask, what did some of you talk about at your first session? Any specific questions you think would be good to ask? I don't want to just tell her what I think will get me hormones the fastest, I really want to take my time and examine myself, and make absolutely sure I'm getting into what's right for me. I don't see how it could be wrong but who knows... So, what was your first therapy session like, what did you say/ask, and how did it go?
Relax.
Here is some advice I got from anouther trans woman when I first started therapy.
Show up,
Don't worry,
Bring your sense of humor
If you can get those three points down the rest will fall into place quite nicely.
Glad Sly asked this question because I was wondering some of the same things. What to say...what not to say.. lol... but I guess just being myself is the best thing. I wouldn't mind hearing others experience with therapy tho.
What one says has a lot to do with whether there were issues OTHER than gender-related stuff that prompted the appointment. Too much time has passed since I had that first appointment, and there were actually a couple of those because I HAD to find someone not associated with a gender-mill, err clinic in order to get where I needed to be. But that was as much a product of going through this stuff when dinosaurs still roamed the halls of shrinkdom as anything else.
In my case, there were no other issues other than having to jump through the hoops to get where I needed to be. Fortunately, I finally found someone who recognized that and we hit it off well from the beginning...
Sly I had my first appointment a couple months ago. So, my experience was the introduction meeting was more get to know me and get me to feel comfortable talking with her. She asked about my job, what I like to do in my free time etc. It wasn't until the end of the appointment that we even touched base on my GID. She asked me what I wanted to from counseling & I said I knew I wanted to have chest reconstruction surgery asap but I was unclear as to whether or not that I wanted to take hormones. She has never pushed me into taking hormones or surgery. After about a month (3-4 apt) she told me that she was not a gate keeper and anytime I felt ready to start hormones or surgery she would approve it - she told me that so I could be completely honest about my feelings. I never felt like since childhood that I should be a boy - it's only been in the last couple years. There were many things that I pushed back against that were normal female rights of passages that I hated. I also pushed back from gender roles. I thought I was just an avid feminist. About two months into therapy we wrote the letters for hormones & surgery (well a rough draft) -- we went through the Ben. Standards and how to word the letter so I would be comfortable with things. I have never been to counseling before but have found it enjoyable.