Hi Everyone,

I would like to start my transition but I have little idea where and how to start. I have done some research online and found out that my first step should be seeing a therapist. I was wondering if anyone here know any therapist or doctors in Calgary who I can see? and if insurance covers therapy? I feel so lost and alone. I do not know anyone (in person) who is transgender. And my family and friends don't seem to get it. Then, I stumbled across this forum seeking answers and help. Any help is appreciated. Specifically, information about transitioning in Calgary would be super helpful, as I live in the city.

Also, please let me know if I posted this in the right place or if there is already a post that can give me some answers.

Thank you!

Hi Dawn, Welcome to Susan's. True a therapist is a good first start. I don't know of any, but most likely someone else will. Therapy is often covered, but as far as to what degree where you lived I don't kow. I look forward to seeing you around the forums. The location of the post is just fine. Good luck and Hugs
Mariah

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Hey Dawn typically you need to get a referral to an appropriate psychiatrist through your family physician.  That starts the process officially. Typically the WPATH standards are followed here in Alberta. A referral to a approved gender psychiatrist is covered but psychologist and general therapists are not and some people take that route as the wait times can be long to get into the official process. As of last year there is now a psychiatrist option in Calgary instead of solely in Edmonton so that is a big improvement.

There are also support groups available depending on age as well. You can check out the following link to get more information on resources available in Calgary.

http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/1368378/transgender-calgarians-looking-forward-to-launch-of-comprehensive-resource-list/ 

I hope this helps get you going.

Hugs !!!

Also not knowing your age I know that the Children's hospital is ramping up a program for trans* youth however I am not sure about the state at this time and if it is running yet.

By the way I did not know a single Trans person till last year myself so your situation is not uncommon. We are out there !!

Welcome to Susan's Dawn

Good luck with your journey and hope you can find a therapist in Calgary. I think Erica may have provided some help for you.

Look forward to seeing you around the forum's.

Thanks Erica xx

L Katy 

Thank you all for the amazing welcome and support! It means a lot to me.

Quote from: Erica_Y on June 29, 2015, 11:23:21 PM
Also not knowing your age I know that the Children's hospital is ramping up a program for trans* youth however I am not sure about the state at this time and if it is running yet.

By the way I did not know a single Trans person till last year myself so your situation is not uncommon. We are out there !!

Thank you so much Erica! As for my age, I am 23 years old. I have read somewhere that some psychiatrist do not accept transgender patients that are older than 13 or something like that.

  Great to see another Canadian member on here - we never quite get enough of us joining and actively participating.  I know there have been a few Susan's members from your area and the Prairies, so you're not alone in Calgary.  Definitely check out a support group if only just to see that there are many more like you locally.  I never made extensive use of support groups myself - they just got me over my initial fears of talking about my problem and made me feel great to know there actually were other people in my 'species'.  I'd encourage you to mention Susan's to those you meet because it can be a very therapeutic and enjoyable experience, plus I want to see as many Canadians on here as possible!  I fully believe that my use of this site saved me from being referred for psychotherapy before my HRT approval.  It took long enough to get through wait lists and the whole rest of the process to get to that point as it was.

  Anyone in the medical profession there who is seriously trying to serve trans clients will already be aware of all the contacts and reference sources available for guidance.  The bulk of the experience and information tends to come from my home province of Ontario.  Feel confident that anything they need they are going to be able to find in the network.  My local LGBT Health Centre is one of the most commonly tapped resources for trans health policies and practices due to their depth of experience and large base of staff, many of whom are also trans.  I've heard that the professionals available in your area are reasonably up to speed.  If you ever feel a particular doctor is unsure of something be patient (no pun intended) with them because they will get the information they need, and even my local professionals are sometimes learning along with us.  Everything happening in my transition is being carefully documented in detail by my doctor for the benefit of everyone that follows me.  Be as polite as possible with the medical staff - if you treat them the way you want to be treated you will get everything you need as expediently as possible.  If you get short-tempered with them it'll just drag things out by getting you referred for more psychotherapy than you may have otherwise.  (I never had this problem but I've seen a lot of it happening around me.)

  If you haven't already, take a look at this document from my health centre because it is a widely used reference elsewhere:

http://sherbourne.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Guidelines-and-Protocols-for-Comprehensive-Primary-Care-for-Trans-Clients.pdf

  Your local professionals may not follow it exactly but it will get you quite well-versed in what to expect from the process as it applies to typical client-handling in Canada.

QuoteThank you so much Erica! As for my age, I am 23 years old. I have read somewhere that some psychiatrist do not accept transgender patients that are older than 13 or something like that.

You are very welcome Dawn. There tends to be therapists and Psychiatrists that specialize in youth as they have unique requirements and a different level of brain development that needs to  be taken into account. Otherwise anybody can get a referral to a psychiatrist through your family doctor.

As a young adult you will most likely be referred to Dr. Joe Raiche who is practicing out of the Foothills hospital south building if you decide to go down that route. He is one of two Dr's in Alberta that can write recommendation letters to the Provincial government to apply for SRS funding if that is in your future. I know they are working on increasing that number so who knows in the future. You can get referred to a HRT endo or physician once you have a recommendation from a therapist / psychologist to help move the process forward here as the wait lists to see Dr Raiche or Dr. Petric (Sp?) in Edmonton can be long. Not sure what they are these days as I am well into the process.

At the time the wait list to see Dr Warnekee was up to a year or more so I paid out of pocket to see a psychologist to get a recommendation letter to start HRT through an Endo while I waited for the official process to happen. It is not frowned upon and is pretty typical for many to chose the same route as the Psychiatrists know the wait lists are long and not appropriate so complimentary initiatives are accepted. Also for some it helps them work through where they sit on the Gender Identity spectrum and how far they want to go in this process.

cheers!!

  They've really got to sort out how to streamline this process.  When I moved to my health centre I got a new family physician who handled everything - they performed the whole mental assessment for informed consent themselves and also prescribed my HRT.  (I was deemed mentally fit to proceed without psychotherapy, having already gone through a short in-house group therapy program of sorts - more like a 'transition 101' course really.)  Perhaps as the pool of trained professionals expands there will be more of them qualified and willing to play multiple roles in order to dramatically speed things up.  I can see how only two GPs with SRS-signing authority couldn't possibly have the time themselves to provide all the services personally.  (That said, my doctor does not have the authority herself - bizarre politics in Ontario have limited approvals to only one facility with a very 'troubled history', to put it politely and mildly.  This is the place that only just recently finally was forced by the provincial government to quit practicing conversion therapy on children.)

Quote from: Violet Bloom on June 30, 2015, 10:44:20 AM
  If you haven't already, take a look at this document from my health centre because it is a widely used reference elsewhere:

http://sherbourne.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Guidelines-and-Protocols-for-Comprehensive-Primary-Care-for-Trans-Clients.pdf

  Your local professionals may not follow it exactly but it will get you quite well-versed in what to expect from the process as it applies to typical client-handling in Canada.

Thank you for the additional info Violet! I actually used to live in Ontario, Toronto. Then we moved to Calgary about 7 years ago.

Quote from: Erica_Y on June 30, 2015, 11:15:35 AM
You are very welcome Dawn. There tends to be therapists and Psychiatrists that specialize in youth as they have unique requirements and a different level of brain development that needs to  be taken into account. Otherwise anybody can get a referral to a psychiatrist through your family doctor.

As a young adult you will most likely be referred to Dr. Joe Raiche who is practicing out of the Foothills hospital south building if you decide to go down that route. He is one of two Dr's in Alberta that can write recommendation letters to the Provincial government to apply for SRS funding if that is in your future. I know they are working on increasing that number so who knows in the future. You can get referred to a HRT endo or physician once you have a recommendation from a therapist / psychologist to help move the process forward here as the wait lists to see Dr Raiche or Dr. Petric (Sp?) in Edmonton can be long. Not sure what they are these days as I am well into the process.

At the time the wait list to see Dr Warnekee was up to a year or more so I paid out of pocket to see a psychologist to get a recommendation letter to start HRT through an Endo while I waited for the official process to happen. It is not frowned upon and is pretty typical for many to chose the same route as the Psychiatrists know the wait lists are long and not appropriate so complimentary initiatives are accepted. Also for some it helps them work through where they sit on the Gender Identity spectrum and how far they want to go in this process.

cheers!!

Hi again Erica! I have contacted Alex Youth Clinic through e-mail requiring about seeing a doctor. I have not received a reply yet, I might just end up calling them if I don't get a response until Thursday. Honestly, I want to "officially" (medically and legally) start my transition as soon as possible but at the same time I am also scared and nervous. I am going back to school in September for my last year. And I have to look for a new job. I feel miserable but knowing that I am taking a few real steps makes me feel better. *sigh*

Dawn that is great you are taking action and it is normal to be nervous and scared. If somebody says they are not then they are not being truthful and they probably do not understand the magnitude of the challenge. I hear that you are anxious and it sounds like you are ready to move quickly just so you know patience wins the race in this journey and this week especially is Canada day week so people are on holidays potentially and or not putting in full weeks. If you have a family Dr. already that Dr. can start the process for you as well.

Quote from: Dawn11 on June 30, 2015, 07:24:16 PM
Thank you for the additional info Violet! I actually used to live in Toronto, Ontario. Then we moved to Calgary about 7 years ago.

  Too bad you didn't stay because it likely would have been easier for your transition.  I've easily accessed all the services I needed and I've experienced nearly universal acceptance everywhere I go.  Plus I don't feel alone given the high concentration of trans population here as well as every variation you can think of in the LGBT spectrum.  You're always welcome back if the oil boom completely busts!

From a small town in alberta near Edmonton area and what I did was google a gender therapist and of course narrowed it down to Edmonton for myself. But being that you live in Calgary you would also have another option I would think is to find the pride center there and I am sure they could help.

Once you get a minimum of 3 visits to gender therapist they can then make a referral to see Werneke or Petryk both same kind of doctors. Beyond that still waiting for the call myself so cant say a lot more. From the referral letter you have to wait 8 months my self 1 to go or whenever the hell they call.

Best of luck!:)

Quote from: Erica_Y on June 30, 2015, 08:09:59 PM
Dawn that is great you are taking action and it is normal to be nervous and scared. If somebody says they are not then they are not being truthful and they probably do not understand the magnitude of the challenge. I hear that you are anxious and it sounds like you are ready to move quickly just so you know patience wins the race in this journey and this week especially is Canada day week so people are on holidays potentially and or not putting in full weeks. If you have a family Dr. already that Dr. can start the process for you as well.

Hi Erica, I just want to do a little update and I was wondering if you can give me additional advice? So, as you have guessed, I was referred to Dr Raiche. I was told that the wait time is 9 -12 months. I understand that patient is essential while transitioning. However, I was wondering if there is anything I can do while I am waiting? I would really want to start HRT, change my legal name, change my gender ID marker, etc. I am graduating April 2016, and I don't really want to graduate with my current name. I read somewhere that I can go to a private psychologist to fasten the process? If I go to a private psychologist, can I still see Dr Raiche? What can the pyschologist do? Also, in regards to Dr Raiche, will I receive a call from them? or do I call them? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Dawn, I'm not sure if you're allowed to obtain a referral from a psychologist located in another province, but if that's possible and you don't mind travelling, you could try contacting Dr. Melady Preece in Vancouver. I had an appointment scheduled about two weeks after I contacted her. Her rate at the time was $150/hour. I hope this helps.