Ok I'm still living as a female but I so badly want to talk to a gender therapist to at least feel like I am making progress.  However the resources for gender therapists in South Carolina are very scarce.  I'm heavily considering online therapy.  I know it might be best to see a therapist in person but online therapy would be the only way for me right now since I don't drive and there are none near me.  I am a broke unemployed college student right now but if the prices are fair enough I may be able to scrap up the funds from the money I do have.  Two online therapist stuck out to me the most and are listed below.

http://www.brandnewdaycounseling.com/index.html

http://www.gendertherapist.com/index.html

Are these two online therapist certified and legit?

I currently do not have a bank accout so would they be lenient on working with me financially if I chose to pay with prepaid loaded Visa debit cards?

Do I need a RLE either of them?  Do I have to be living my life male or can they give me my letters of reccomendation while still presenting as female?  That way when I get enough money to move out I can jump right into my transition.

Has anyone ever used them?  I know that question has came up here but if you don't mind answering again could you please share your experience?  How long did it take you before you got your letter of reccomendations from them?  If you used another legit online therapist could you send a link please?

Also this sounds like a silly question but do letters of reccomendation expire?  For example if I were to get therapy and my letters of reccomendation for hormones and surgery now but don't actually take hormones and get surgery until years away is the letter still valid?

I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm asking for a lot but I'm so desperate on the inside to transition.  I hate feeling stuck.

I'm tired and not really up for giving sensical response to this, but your questions are legit. Particularly the one about the lifespan of letters.

I'll look at those links but also I want to ask around locally. That's just crazy that it would be so hard for anyone. I can vouch for you, for the fact that you've thought this through.

PM me please if I don't follow up on this within a week or so. I'm distracted at the moment but I don't want to take my privileges for granted and forget that not everybody gets counseling and hormones in an affordable and timely manner.

Any medical practitioner in the USA should be registered under the relevant board/body for licensing.  You should be able to check the bona fides of the person offering counseling online by doing a search on that board.  That would at least let you know that you're actually dealing with a qualified person.

You should not need RLE before starting therapy - they need to assess you anyway regardless of how you present.

I know that in Australia, that all health care providers are registered under the Australian Health Provider Regulation Agency and that we can look up any provider, see if they _really_ do have specialist registration, as well as whether or not they have ever been disciplined by the board.

I'm not sure how it works in the US, but the time from my last psych appointment, to the time I went back to the GP for a referral to the endo was about 8 years, and I had no trouble getting started on low dose HRT.  I suppose that the endo found my reasoning for starting on HRT sound - he was comfortable enough with me to not want me going back to see my psych.

I would suspect that letters of recommendation for surgery would probably not really expire if you have already started HRT/done RLE for a while.  If I was in a position where financially I could not afford it but had the letter, I would at least have a consultation with one of the surgeons to at least make a statement saying "I'm serious, I want this, but I can't afford it yet" - it might save going back through a few hoops later on.

I hope it all works out for you - it'd be great if you could get a good part of therapy sorted out before you move out.  Keep working at it Malachite, you're thinking things through and making the most out of what you've got - I have the feeling you're going to do just fine. =)

Thanks for the responses to the both of yall and Felix I will follow up in a week if needed. 

Luna I really hope that the letters will be valid even before T/Surgery.  I just don't know who my endo will be until I move and I want to go to Dr. Garramone.  It would be awful if he said that my letters didn't count.  Now I'm starting to think that this may be a bad idea.  If I can truely pull this off then I would probably not mind if I go through my life savings which is about a grand or two for therapy.  I want to make progress and not just sit around sulking for my situation.

Do you know where you'll be moving to? I have heard VT has great coverage for trans care for low income people, and the Massachusetts plans for low-to-no income people are really decent and usually cover some of the costs of starting transition. Therapy is included in mental health benefits. I'd bet other states are good too.

There are also more and more colleges which are good to transition at, including some where surgery is covered.


About Graham Peveller: I have been personally present in a thread in a locked support group on livejournal where he came in to argue with a former patient of his who felt like he'd been disrespected and poorly served. Peveller revealed information about the number and content of sessions that the FTM had done (which would be illegal if Peveller were in the US, which he is not). The FTM and his partner also told of other harassing and unethical comments that Peveller had posted in this guy's blog. The FTM had enough to pursue an ethical violation with Peveller's professional organization, but the guy just didn't have the energy.

Quote from: MrTesto on April 28, 2012, 02:38:09 AM
Do you know where you'll be moving to? I have heard VT has great coverage for trans care for low income people, and the Massachusetts plans for low-to-no income people are really decent and usually cover some of the costs of starting transition. Therapy is included in mental health benefits. I'd bet other states are good too.

There are also more and more colleges which are good to transition at, including some where surgery is covered.


About Graham Peveller: I have been personally present in a thread in a locked support group on livejournal where he came in to argue with a former patient of his who felt like he'd been disrespected and poorly served. Peveller revealed information about the number and content of sessions that the FTM had done (which would be illegal if Peveller were in the US, which he is not). The FTM and his partner also told of other harassing and unethical comments that Peveller had posted in this guy's blog. The FTM had enough to pursue an ethical violation with Peveller's professional organization, but the guy just didn't have the energy.

That is kind of disconcerting with that FtM and it makes me more confused about Graham as I've heard that he can get an attitude but I also heard he was good to talk to.  As for the states I was thinking Florida, California, or Texas.  I guess until I move out it just isn't in the cards to find a legit gender therapist online.

Just as an update I sent Melissa Leonhardt an email asking if you accepted pre paid Visa debit cards so now I am waiting for her response.  At the moment this will determine whether I may get therapy from her.  I really hope she takes them because then I can just load up the cards at a mall and I don't have a bank account right now.  I want this to be as clandestine as possible.  I hope she is able to work with me on it.  If not then I guess I will either have to get a ban account or find another therapsit that accepts them.

Yeah- the Peveller behavior was really bizarre. But I checked and double checked then handle he was using and what he revealed about himself and the client. That was not a time in my life when I would have been obligated to report him, as has sometimes been the case.

If you are looking to go to Garramone, be sure he accepts an online therapist. The letter he requires will have them state how and how often they worked with you. (His is pretty detailed.) That's actually another vote in favor of working with someone licensed and resident in the US.

Garramone can send you the pre-op packet which has the lsit of what he needs as far as letters and medical info.

I will make sure to contact Dr. Garramone with whoever I go with to make sure he takes him or her beforehand.  I really want to go with Melissa Leonhardt now since she's in NC which is only one state away.

As for college I'm pretty dead locked into it.  I go to a community college and only plan for an associates degree and some certifications with only about a year left.