Ok, so I tried going to therapy once before and it didn't really work out.
Basically last time I went to my GP and told her that I have GID and that I'd like her help in finding a therapist that would be able to talk to me.
The only person she found that had experience and was accepting new patients was two hours away.  It didn't work out for a number of reasons (financial and personal).

So I'm at a point where I think I need therapy, though not entirely sure what for.  All my life I've buried my emotions and I've become very cold when dealing with people. Not necessarily mean, but I veil my true feelings, sometimes I'm misleading, sometimes I just outright lie.  If I go to therapy, I'll be honest, I don't really see a point to going to therapy if I'm not honest.   
I've always considered myself a responsible person, but I'm at a huge turning point in my life.  I don't want to continue my life living the way I am, it's tearing me up inside, I hate how I have to act, how I have to pretend to be normal.  I need it to be fixed.  I know there are options for how to fix this.  I could start self medicating, but I'd rather do things responsibly. So I think the best option for me is to find a therapist.

BUT, I have no idea how to find one.  Can I just call up people's offices and ask if they have experience with TS clients?  If they're accepting new patients?  Do I need a referral? What things should I look for?  How much should it cost? How would I even start looking for someone?   Should I look for a psychologist, or a psychiatrist?  Can both still give me any of the required letters to start going on HRT? If I can't find someone with experience with TS clients, is it worth going at all?  Are there things I could look for in a therapist that would suggest they'd be good?  Certain techniques they use?

So if anybody can give any suggestions or help, I'd be so grateful.

If it helps, I live in Windsor Ontario Canada.  Right across the river from Detroit, I could make it to detroit if need be, but I don't have a car so it'd have to be somewhere in Windsor or at most downtown detroit.
I'm also still a student, so finances are a huge concern for me - most of my money goes straight to rent and food.

Well, thanks in advance. Like I said, any help would be amazing.

Thanks. ^_^

-Floating.

There are directories.  Psychology Today magazine has a directory.  Enter your Zip or the name of your city (Canada is included) and it will come back with a list of therapists in your area.  It will also include a description of their practice and areas of interest.  Specifically finding someone listing gender issues may be difficult to find but someone working with the LGBT issues will be easy.

Psychiatrist v. psychologist/therapist.  I don't know much about the Canadian MH system but in the USA psychiatrists primarily do medication management, neuro-psych problems and areas where a medical doctors expertise is required.  Talk therapy is done by MA psychologists, clinical social workers and PhD Psychologists.  All are licensed by the state.  The type of degree is less important than overall experience and orientation.

In choosing a therapist the most important thing is finding someone you're comfortable with and whom you would be willing to disclose your deepest secrets.  When you approach a therapist see if they will do a get acquainted interview.  It will give you both a chance to see if you can build a working relationship.  Before meeting anyone you should ask yourself what you hope to achieve in therapy.  Let the therapist know what your problems are.

There are different kinds of therapy.  Some of the most common ones are cognitive-behavioural, psychodynamic, humanistic, transpersonal and eclectic.  Wiki contains a good descriptions of all

Therapy generally runs around $100 US an hour.  Many therapists will work on a sliding scale depending on your ability to pay.  Doesn't Medicare provide mental health benefits?  Public health departments can often hook people up with care.  I have a friend in Quebec that told me there's a 3 to 6 month wait for a HRT, at least from her shrinks at McGill University.

I hope this helps a little.  Keep up your spirits.  You'll find someone that can help you in this phase of your journey.

Here is Susan's link for Ontario Gender Identity counselors.  I see Windsor there.

https://www.susans.org/Medical/Therapists_and_Counselors/Canada/Ontario/

For our Canadian members:  Please forward contact info for any gender counselors you find.  Our Canadian list by province is quite empty.

Thanks

Robyn@susans.org or PM here
Links Staff

Quote from: Claire de Lune on May 11, 2008, 03:42:24 PM
There are directories.  Psychology Today magazine has a directory.  Enter your Zip or the name of your city (Canada is included) and it will come back with a list of therapists in your area.  It will also include a description of their practice and areas of interest.  Specifically finding someone listing gender issues may be difficult to find but someone working with the LGBT issues will be easy.

Psychiatrist v. psychologist/therapist.  I don't know much about the Canadian MH system but in the USA psychiatrists primarily do medication management, neuro-psych problems and areas where a medical doctors expertise is required.  Talk therapy is done by MA psychologists, clinical social workers and PhD Psychologists.  All are licensed by the state.  The type of degree is less important than overall experience and orientation.

In choosing a therapist the most important thing is finding someone you're comfortable with and whom you would be willing to disclose your deepest secrets.  When you approach a therapist see if they will do a get acquainted interview.  It will give you both a chance to see if you can build a working relationship.  Before meeting anyone you should ask yourself what you hope to achieve in therapy.  Let the therapist know what your problems are.

There are different kinds of therapy.  Some of the most common ones are cognitive-behavioural, psychodynamic, humanistic, transpersonal and eclectic.  Wiki contains a good descriptions of all

Therapy generally runs around $100 US an hour.  Many therapists will work on a sliding scale depending on your ability to pay.  Doesn't Medicare provide mental health benefits?  Public health departments can often hook people up with care.  I have a friend in Quebec that told me there's a 3 to 6 month wait for a HRT, at least from her shrinks at McGill University.

I hope this helps a little.  Keep up your spirits.  You'll find someone that can help you in this phase of your journey.

Thank you so much.  I had a look at the Psychology today page, unfortunately they don't have anything for my city.  But that's ok. It's a place to start. Usually there's a Canadian specific organisation similar to the big American/international ones, so maybe I'll have luck there. 

As for the medicare/healthcare stuff.  Psychology isn't really considered medicine in that respect.  There are extended health care plans. I have one as a grad student, but it only gives me 300$ per year for treatment by a clinical psychologist.  Yet for some reason I can get 300$ per year for a registered massage therapist.  o.O
And apparently (just looked in the book) 10,000$ per year for a private nurse. *lol*

Anyway, thank you so much for the help. ^_^

QuoteHere is Susan's link for Ontario Gender Identity counselors.  I see Windsor there.

https://www.susans.org/Medical/Therapists_and_Counselors/Canada/Ontario/

For our Canadian members:  Please forward contact info for any gender counselors you find.  Our Canadian list by province is quite empty.

Thanks

Robyn@susans.org or PM here
Links Staff

Thank you as well! Once I'm done my search I'll add forward all the information I find in case it helps someone else in the future.


-Floating