So, I've sent an email to a counselor about talking through some of the issues that have been bothering me.

I'm worried about the answer back though. I know they are expensive and I would hope that this person can work with me on the cost because I'm self insured. I also asked if I could meet with this person over the phone more often then drive there because they are over 60 miles away from where I live. But this seems to be the only person in my region that handles people with GID =/

I'm not even sure if this person can prescribe medications if that's the road I want to go.

The worst of it is, if I can afford this I don't know what this person will think. I don't know what this person will come up with as answers or possible resolutions for the feelings I have. I don't want to be told I'm just depressed and get put on depression medication or told I'm suffering from social anxiety disorder and put on medication for that.

Even if I do choose some form of medication I don't know if I could afford them....

Why does life have to revolve around money?

/end panic

Posted on: November 10, 2008, 01:16:35 pm

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well, for those who have at least viewed this...

I have a meeting setup for Wed at 12:15PM Central (-5 GMT).

I hope everything I'm worried about goes well.

Is this a therapist who specializes in, or at least has experience with GID? If they do then I'm sure they will be able to understand you and won't just think it's all about depression or anxiety. I would make sure to start out by asking them what their experience is with TS people. If that's what you want to talk about and you also want to look into HRT then you'll need to make sure they are qualified and have the ability to write the letter. If they aren't qualified to handle your GID issues then ask them if they can refer you to someone who may be.

Good luck with your appointment. Make sure to update us on how it went. Take care.

- Sarah

That was quick, it's five today gmt? I hope you have a useful and enlightening time.

Ok, I had my conversation with this therapist and I'd have to say I'm not impressed. This person seemed like he wanted to help solely because each client is worth about $1,500.00 to him on average. He said he does have experience with helping people that have gender issues and would be willing to setup an initial appointment lasting about an hour and a half and each hour would cost me about $90.00 if I payed with cash up front (keeping overhead down on administrative costs from billing customers or insurance agents).

In his defense I did start the conversation with coming right out and asking how much does your services cost, so I'm sure he kept it down to more of a business tone because of the way I started things off.

I don't know what to do.

We only spent 10 mins on the phone (which is far less time I thought it would take) talking about if I could afford it and what I thought my problem was so he could judge if he even had the experience to help me.

I've got the feeling again when I was a kid, like I was just one cow in a herd and the people working the herd are just pushing me through the system so they could get back to their normal lives.

I don't have enough time to be able to post anything else at the moment. I'll have to come back to this if people show interest.

Thanks to those who have posted.

And yes sara, this is a person that advertises they can help people with GID. I wasn't able to ask if this person has helped someone transition either way before.

Well, what did you expect from this phone call that you didn't get?  Anything more in depth seems like it would ordinarily come from a session, not from an initial contact